Searching For Words
by WritingGirl88
Summary: 15 year old twins Rosalie and Jasper have made their to the Cullen's home as foster children. While Rosalie fits right in, Jasper is left to deal with the demons that haunt him. Between defiant behavior, haunting thoughts, and a troubled past, Jasper gives the Cullen's "School of hard knocks" home a run for their money as he tries to find himself and where he fits in. All human.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Thanks for checking out my new story. It's has some similarities with my other story (J Whitlock is Dead), but re-imagined since I lost momentum for JWiD. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!**

"Jasper!" Carlisle yells my name from the doorway of my bedroom. My eyes pop open, and I push my torso up with my arms, although they shake and I don't fully trust them to hold me up. I can feel the sweat matting my hair on the back of my neck. My chest rises up and down with my rapid breath. "Are you okay?"

I nod at the tall silhouette of my current foster father. I know he can't see too much detail on my face, but the moonlight coming in from my window is enough to let him see me nod. He doesn't see the angry glare I'm giving him, though.

"You were screaming again."

I shrug and lay back down, but keep my eyes locked on him. I still haven't pinned him down yet. He's such a complex person, and very hard to read.

"Goodnight, Jazz." He sighs before closing my door.

I drop the tough act once I hear the latch on the doorknob click. I run my hands over my sweaty face and mumble to myself.

"I can keep myself safe. I can keep myself safe."

As much as I hate to admit it, repeating that to myself does help. Mr. Bunkson, my therapist, call them affirmations or something.

I can breath easier once I hear Carlisle travel down the creaky steps to the main floor of the house. Rosalie's room is on the second story with mine and Carlisle's kids. Rosie swears that we're both safe here, but I don't agree. There has to be something wrong with this family.

* * *

"Breakfast is ready!" Esme yells up the steps.

I slump out of bed and shuffle my feet towards the dresser. The thick beige carpet is so soft under my bare feet. As I dig for a tee-shirt and jeans, I curl my toes into the carpet. After I change, I drop my pajamas into the hamper, make my bed and head downstairs.

My twin sister, Rosalie, is already at the big oak table. She's still in an old pair of gray sweatpants and a black tee-shirt that she wore to bed. Her mess of blonde hair is in a sloppy bun at the top of her head. I slide into the chair next to her. She smiles at me, but then turns her attention back to Emmett.

Emmett is seated across from her and smiles as he chews his omelet. He's wearing only a pair of basketball shorts, showing off his defined muscles. Rosalie and Emmett have been ogling each other ever since we came here.

"Hey, brother." Emmett greats me. I give him a little nod. If I don't acknowledge him, he won't stop talking to me until I do.

"You know he won't talk to you." Edward mumbles.

Edward is a lot like Carlisle. They have they same eyes, the same nose, the same strange, complex personality. I'm pretty sure he's biologically Carlisle and Esme's son. He rests his head on his hand and struggles to keep his eyes open.

"Don't start, Edward Mason," Esme scolds him. She smiles at me as she sets a plate with an omelet on it in front of me. "Did you sleep well, honey?"

I nod again.

"Where's the old man?" Emmett asks.

"He got called in last night."

"That sucks." Emmett responds, taking another huge bite.

I watch Esme. She talks about Carlisle getting called into the hospital he works at as if it's no big deal, but it is. After getting called in, he comes back home tired and cranky. It hasn't caused him to do anything more than collapse into bed for hours on end yet, but I'm sure it's coming. He insists on always checking on me when he hears me at night, and that cuts into his sleep too. Rosalie and I have only been here for two weeks, but it's already obvious that the Cullen's aren't who they say they are. No one is.

I keep quiet and as I eat, I scan the kitchen. These folks are good at keeping the truth under cover. They even have Rosalie fooled. But not me. Oh no. They can't trick me. I know there's something wrong here. And I'll keep an eye out until I find just what it is.

 **Please review and tell me what you think! The second chapter should be up within a few days.**


	2. Chapter 2

Carson Community High School is the tiny school that Carlisle and Esme have us all enrolled in. Except for Edward. He's still in the middle school.

Rosalie and I learned quickly that news travels fast in small towns. I'm use to getting all the typical questions. Where are you from? What school did you transfer from? What brings you to this town? What do your parents do? How old are you? What do you like to do for fun? Do you play any sports? What's your favorite subject? I could go on and on for days with the questions I'm asked when we transferred schools. These are simple, easy to answer questions. But in the past, we were at bigger schools. Before this town, we were in schools that had over five hundred kids just in the graduating class. New kids came and no one ever noticed. We were just two people in a sea of students. No one cared who we were.

But here? Everyone knows who we are. Before we even stepped into the building everyone knew that Rosalie and I are foster kids and that we were staying at the Cullen's. Rosalie's first friend, a little short-haired girl named Alice, was never properly introduced to Rosie. She bounced up to Rosalie on our first day and said she would show her around school. She even knew my name. Every step we took was surrounded by whispers and sideways glances. They knew far too much.

There is a good side to this all, though. Everyone already knew that I did not want to talk to them. The teachers even knew. So that worked out in my favor.

I hate school. I know every teenager says that, but I really do. I can't stand all the people and the work is too confusing. As soon as I turn sixteen in December, I'm dropping out.

Emmett drives us to the little school every day. He drops Edward off at the old brick building across the rode from the high school where both the middle school classes and elementary school classes are held, and we go to the new building where the high school classes are. As soon as we jump out of Emmett's Jeep, there are people everywhere. Emmett's is on every sport team there is, so he's constantly surrounded by teammates. Rosalie hadn't had any issue making new friends, so she was always talking to someone too. Which that wouldn't be an issue for me at all, except for Alice Binkly.

Rosalie rearranged her schedule so we could have lunch together. It just so happens that Alice Binkly has the same lunch period as us. She and Rosalie have almost identical schedules. Alice has a lot of questions, more questions that anyone has ever had before, and this upbeat personality that I couldn't waver for the life of me. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't shake her.

"Hi guys!"

I groan. That bubble voice belongs to none other than Alice Binkly. Her short black hair bounces as she hurries over to us. She wedges herself between Rosalie and I and hooks her arms around ours. I pull mine away.

"Jasper, have you started that history project?" She asks. I glare at her, and then at Rosalie for befriending this little nuisance. It doesn't stop Alice though. "I'm going to do mine on the tail of tears. We skipped that whole chapter in the textbook. Did you notice that? I thought that was strange. We could partner up and do it together if you want!"

I roll my eyes and step behind the two girls to stand on the other side of Rosalie. I watch Alice out of the corner of my eye. Her smile never once falters.

The first warning bell rings, telling us we only have two minutes left to get to first hour. I happily leave Alice's constant conversation, but dread walking into my algebra class. I hate algebra. I sit in the back corner, set out my notebook and put my cellphone on silent before setting it on my desk in the corner made by the wall and that fat kid in the desk in front of me so the teacher wouldn't see it.

I survived algebra without any issues. English was a little harder to keep to myself, but gym was a breeze. I had the option to join Team Sports or Personal Weight Lifting. Personal Weight Lifting is taught by a middle-aged balding man who just wonders around the weight room and only spoke to us to tell us to fix our form. It's perfect.

Lunch is next. I always sit with Rosalie and her friends. They don't care that I don't really add anything to the conversation and accept that I like it that way. Well, most of them accept it. Alice is the only one who doesn't.

Things are different today, though. I walk into the lunch room with the brown paper bag Esme packed for me and head for the table Rosalie and her friends usually set. Brittany, Rachel, Carrie, Greg, Tyler, Heather. But Alice and Rosalie aren't there. I scrunch up my brows and scan the room.

"Jasper," Tyler calls. He points across the room. "Rose and Alice are down there."

I follow the direction of his finger and spot them at the end of an empty table. I head that way.

"Our Dad did it to him. He would beat on him and then tell him that if he told anyone, they would take him away." I hear Rosalie say. Alice leans forward and listens with wide eyes. Rosalie's words slow me down and almost bring me to a complete stop. Is she really telling Alice this? "That's when he stopped talking to people he doesn't know. Mom was never any help. She just stayed on the couch and let it all happen. She never really did anything."

Holy shit. She really is telling Alice all of this.

My heart drops. My stomach turns. I feel like my throat is closing. I walk right past their table. I know they both had to see me because they got real quiet once I walked by.

I walk as quickly as I can out of the lunch room and make a beeline for the bathroom at the far end of the school. It's horrible shape, so no one ever uses it. Once I make it there, I toss my lunch into the garbage can, go into one of the only stalls that have both a divider from the other stalls and a lock, and lock the door. I lean against the divider, run my fingers through my hair and try to keep my head straight.

My own sister. She knows people aren't suppose to know about what we went through. She knows that. I don't tell anyone what Mom use to tell her. How many people has she told? How much more will she tell Alice? How much has she already told her? Why would she tell her anything? My stomach twists even harder and I try to blink away the tears welling up in my eyes but I can't. I can't control it.

I pull out my cell phone and try to text Esme, but I can't get my fingers to stay still. They shake and butcher my message.

 _I m sick. I meed to leve schoopl_

I hit send and hope she knows what I mean even with the typos. My heart races as I wait for a response.

 _On my way, honey._ She responds.

I stay in the bathroom and try hard to take a steady breath. My chest rises up and down like ocean waves during a storm and nothing I do calms it.

"I can keep myself safe. I can keep myself safe." I murmur again under my breath. It doesn't work this time like it did last night.

My hands, my breathing, my stomach, my tears, my throat, my heart. It's all out of control.

* * *

"Jasper Whitlock to the office please."

I fly out of the stall at the sound of the school secretary over the loudspeaker. Finally, someone's here to get me. Before exiting the bathroom I pull my long sleeves over my hands and wipe away any signs of tears. I head straight for the office at the front of the school, looking for Esme. It's not Esme here to get me, though.

It's Carlisle.

The sight of the blonde doctor makes me slow my pace. He stands tall with his head held high while talking to the school principal.

Shit. My heart starts to race again and my throat tightens. I try to gulp down my fears before stepping into the office that seemed a lot smaller now.

"There you are, Jasper. How are you feeling?" Carlisle asks. I drop my head slightly, but still keep my eyes glued on Carlisle. He puts the back of his hand on my forehead, but I pull away. "You don't feel warm."

I give him a mean glare.

"Go get your backpack. Your homework will be sent home with Rosalie." He instructs.

I dip out of the office and head to my locker. By the time I get my backpack and return to the office, Carlisle has signed me out and is ready leave. He says goodbye to the principal, puts his hand on my shoulder and walks out of the office with me. I shake his arm off and take a few sidesteps away from him. He eyes me, but doesn't say anything until we're out of the building.

"What's not feeling well?" He asks. I look down at the sidewalk. "Jasper, you have to tell me. Your stomach?"

I don't respond.

"Your head?"

Still nothing.

"Allergies?"

He can go on all day and I still won't respond to him. He hasn't gotten that yet.

"You have to talk to me at some point, Jasper."

Yeah, right.

"You look tense. Anxiety?"

I turn my head away from him as we approach the car and wipe my face again. I cross my arms and hide my shaking fingers under them. Carlisle sighs, but doesn't push the issue until we both climb into his fancy car.

"I'm assuming it's anxiety. Would you be willing to take something for it?" He asks. I just look out the window. "We have to stop at the pharmacy anyways to pick up some prescriptions. I'm going to get bottles of multivitamins for you and Rosalie. There's other vitamins that can help calm anxiety. If you want anything stronger, you'll have to ask Dr. Bunkson for something."

I let him continue on and on. His precious Mercedes is immaculate, and there's not a single crumb in site. My stomach growls and I instantly regret throwing away my lunch. He probably wouldn't let me eat anything in this car anyways.

I turn my mind to Rosalie and Alice. Why would she do this to me? I take care of her. I always have. From foster home to foster home, I did what needed to happen to take care of us. How could she turn on me? And out of all the people to tell, she tells Alice?

I keep my head turned from Carlisle and blink back tears. What did I do to her that would make her do this? She must be mad at me or something. I run through the past few days but I can't find a reason why she would go and tell a stranger anything about me.

I have to make it up to her.

We pull up to the pharmacy and he pulls into his usual spot: the farthest back corner from the doors of the store. He tells me to come with him, which isn't an issue. I have came to this pharmacy before with Esme and Carlisle. It's small, and only has two people working in the store part, and only one pharmacist working in the back. I already scoped the place out. There's hardly any cameras.

We walk in and Carlisle gives the young boy behind the register a smile and a wave. The boy smiles back, happily saying "Welcome back, Dr. Cullen!"

Carlisle heads straight for the pharmacy. I hang back, though. I scan over the aisles to remember what's in each one and where in the ceiling the cameras are mounted. Carlisle looks over his shoulder and when he sees I'm occupied with looking at something on the end cap of one of the aisles, he continues without me.

Perfect.

I dip into the toy aisle. There's a shelf with board games and puzzles and cards. I grab a single pack of playing cards, look them over, and then stuff them in my pocket. The makeup aisle is next. I have no idea what all this stuff is for, but I know she's been talking about this contouring stuff. There's a rectangle black compact labeled as a contouring kit. I grab it and put it in my pocket with the deck of cards. That will make Rosie happy with me again. I wonder casually to the aisle with deodorant. It doesn't take me long to find the deodorant that I like. I take the travel sized stick so it fits better in my pocket. My next target is shampoo and conditioner. Rosalie uses tons of it, so that's always on my "shopping" list. I take two miniature bottles of each.

I glance down at my pockets. The cards hide well and I can put the contour kit behind my phone so it doesn't draw any attention, but the shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant are a little more obvious. I stuff my hands in my pockets and head to the bathroom.

To get to the bathroom I had to pass Carlisle at the pharmacy pickup window. He's too busy chatting with the pharmacists to notice me, so I slide in without a problem. The contouring kit has a security sticker on the plastic wrapping around it, so I tear that off and toss it in the garbage can. I unzip my pants and carefully place the shampoos and conditioners in my underwear. My jeans aren't the right size anyways, so they actually make them fit a little better. I zip back up, put the contouring kit behind my phone in my pocket, flush the unused water in the urinal and wash my hands. I've become a pro at this. No one will suspect a thing if they hear water running.

As soon as I step out, though, I know I've been caught. An older man, who Esme has pointed out as the owner of the store, stands with Carlisle at the pharmacy window. As soon as the bathroom door shuts behind my, both the man and Carlisle look up at me with firm expressions. Carlisle's brow is knitted together and his jaw is set and tense. He curls one finger at me, gesturing for me to come over.

Shit.

 **Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you know how hard they have to work to keep that store open? It's not easy for them! The last thing they need is a teenager going in and stealing from them! You better count your lucky stars that they agreed to not call the cops." Carlisle lectures angrily as we drive down the rode to his big house. The grip on his steering wheel is so I tight that his knuckles are white. "How am I supposed to trust you? How long have you been doing this?"

I don't answer him. I just slump down in the front seat and look out the window. I pause on the first step and my whole body tenses up.

"I can't believe this." Carlisle sighs. He turns down the driveway. "You are grounded."

He pulled into the garage and cuts the engine. As soon as he does, I jump out and hustle to the door that leads into the house. Carlisle opens his car door and hesitates while clicking the button to shut the garage door.

"Jasper, wait. We still need to talk." He says firmly.

I ignore him and fling open the door. It opens into the kitchen, where Esme is sitting at the counter with the open newspaper. When she sees me, she smiles.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

I ignore her and stomp out of the kitchen and into the living room. I head for the stairs, but Carlisle's strong voice stops me.

"Jasper!" He yells after slamming the door. His voice seems to rumble the house. My whole body tenses up. "Get back here! Now!"

I don't even think about my movements. As soon as I hear his demand, I drop my head and return back to the kitchen.

"Carlisle, what are you screaming for?" Esme asked in a hushed tone. Carlisle points to the kitchen table.

"Sit down and stay there." He orders.

I take a seat, fold my arms on the table and rest my chin on them as I watch Carlisle and Esme interact. Carlisle turns to her and pinches the bridge of his nose and clamps his eyes shut.

"If you look at our credit card statement, you will see a charge for $87. That's because for the past three weeks, Jasper has been shoplifting from the pharmacy!"

"What?" Esme says with a shake of her head.

"He has some bad sticky fingers. Tom came up to me while I was waiting for some pills and told me he just watched Jasper fill his pockets on camera. And sure enough he had his pockets stuffed full! Makeup, playing cards. He had deodorant and shampoo and condition shoved in his pants!" Carlisle grumbles angrily and crosses his arms. "Oh, and that's not even the best part. Tom took us in the office and replayed videos from our past visits, and he's been stealing from them since day one!"

"Jasper!" Esme gasps, placing on hand on her chest. "Is that true?"

I don't respond.

"Answer her." Carlisle orders.

I nervously nod yes. She lets out a heavy sigh.

"Tom and I tallied up $87 worth of merchandise that he took. We're lucky it's Tom's Pharmacy. If it were a chain pharmacy they would have called the cops on him and thrown him in Boysville!"

The name "Boysville" sent a shiver down my spine. It's a juvenile delinquent center. I had to stay at one when I was thirteen and between foster homes. I was only there for a week, but it wasn't a good experience.

"Honey, you're making him nervous." Esme whispers to Carlisle.

"He deserves to be nervous!"

"Let's go discuss this in the other room. Come on," Esme puts her hand on Carlisle's shoulder and gestures to the living room.

"You," He points one finger at me. "Don't move."

The two walk into the living room without another word. The open floor plan of the house didn't give them much privacy. They would have had better privacy in their bedroom that's just off of the living room. The only thing separating the kitchen from the living room is the change in the floor from tile to hardwood. The back half of the lower story is all open, with big sliding glass door in the kitchen that leads to the outside patio. The front half of the lower floor isn't open at all. When you come in through the front door, there's Carlisle's study on the right and a sitting room on the left. There a short hallway where there's a bathroom that also has the washer and dryer in it.

The stairs are in the living room. They take you upstairs where the rest of the bedrooms are. There's Edward's and Rosalie's bedroom on the right side of the hall, and mine and Emmett's on the left. There's a bathroom between my room and Emmett's, and a closet between Edward's and Rosalie's. There's a tiny room at the very end of the hall that could be another bedroom, but it's smaller than the rest and is used for storage.

Everything in this house has its place. From the office to the storage room, nothing is without an organization plan. Photos of the Cullen's and what I assume where past foster kids are everywhere.

Rosie and I probably won't be here long enough to get our picture put up. I sigh and rest my forehead on my arms. They'll probably ship us off to someone else now that they caught me stealing.

I strain to hear what's being said. I can't make it all out, but I can hear them say my caseworkers name, Mr. Vince. Ugh, great. They'll probably call him and he'll have to ship us off to someone else. Rosalie is so happy here.

Sighing lightly, I lift my head and pull my phone out of my pocket. I pull up my messages to Esme. She's the one with the bleeding heart for us.

 _I'm sorry_

It only takes a second for her phone to ding after I hit send. I lower my head onto my arms again, this time laying the side of my face down so I can watch them in the living room. Esme pulls her phone out, puts one hand over her heart and holds the phone out to Carlisle to see.

"Honey, look. He's sorry." She says.

Carlisle sighs and they lower their voices again. They talk for a short while before standing up and heading back towards me. I suck in a breath and hold it as I watch them. Carlisle still looks pissed. I can feel the nerves in my throat. I sit up and look down at my legs.

"Jasper," Carlisle says as he pulls out the chair next to me. He sits down and places his hand on my shoulder. I don't mean to, but I tense up instinctively. He notices and pulls away. "Listen buddy, you know what you did was wrong, don't you?"

I glance up at him, but quickly look away again. He sighs again.

"Just give a nod for yes or no." Esme instructs. I glance at her next and she gives me a smile.

I nod yes.

"Will it happen again?"

I shake my head no.

"Good," Esme says and pats my knee. She doesn't seem to notice my tension like Carlisle did. "You're too good of a boy to be doing things like that."

"Jasper, were you ever forced to steal things so you and Rosalie wouldn't go without?" Carlisle asks.

A big lump forms in my throat. I try to gulp it down, but I can't. It feels like my throat is closing on me. I remind myself to take some steady breaths.

My Dad taught me how to steal. I had to steal to get Rosalie and I what we needed when we were at our second foster home. I kept up the habit after that. We never know when we're going to change homes, and we ever never know what kind of home it may be.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Carlisle murmurs. "Jazz, if you need anything, let us know."

"Write it down, or text it to us. We'll get it for you." Esme promises. She pats my knee again. "Don't be afraid to ask for anything."

I nod.

"You are grounded, though." Carlisle adds on. He points one finger to the second floor. "Go to your room. You aren't to leave it for anything other than dinners or the bathroom. Understood?"

Almost on cue, my stomach growls.

"I'll make you lunch first." Esme offers and stands from the table. "How about a sandwich, some chips and a pop?"

She looks over her shoulder at me and I give her a thumbs up. As she opens the refrigerator, Carlisle leans in close to me and lowers his voice.

"Don't let this happen again, Jasper." He warns. "Sticky fingers will not only earn a punishment at home, but it can also earn you a criminal record. You don't want to start that."

I shake my head no and he gives me a curt nod before standing up.

"Make sure to get to your room right after you eat, Jazz."

I nod to let him know I'm listening and he heads off towards his bedroom.

* * *

"Hey," Rosalie says softly as she pokes her head into my room. "Can I come in?"

I nod and set down my tattered book next to me on my bed. It's just an old paperback I was able to smuggle out of a Goodwill two foster homes ago about World War II.

"What happened today? You practically ran out of the lunchroom." Rosie asks and slides in, closing the door behind her. She comes over sets across from me. "Esme said you were sick."

I take in a deep breath. She must not be mad at me anymore if she's coming to talk to me. It feels so nice to just relax with her. Rosalie has been the only consistency I've had in life, and I've been the only consistency in hers. With just me and her, I can finally let my guard down.

"I'm okay." I promise her. She gives me a little smile. "I just felt sick to my stomach."

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

"And I hope we don't run into each other like this again, young man."

Emmett grumbles as he takes the ticket the officer is handing him. Cars creep past and gawk at us on the side of the road. The rest of us sit as still as statues.

We were heading home from school before the officer pulled us over. Emmett was speeding in a school zone, wasn't wearing his seat belt and he was texting while driving too.

"Dad's going to kill you." Edward says under his breath as the officer returned to his patrol car. Emmett shoots him an annoying glare in the rear view mirror.

"Dad isn't going to find out." He growls under his breath. "Right?"

"It's going to make his insurance go up." Edward shoots back. "And who's going to pay the fine? You don't have a job."

Emmett examines the ticket, then smirks.

"Garth will."

The cop pulls away and Emmett rolls his eyes at it before pulling back onto the road.

"Who's Garth?" Rosalie asks quietly.

"My other Dad. My real Dad." He explains. "My biological Dad."

"Oh."

We're quiet for the rest of the car ride home, and I wrack my brain for any prior mention of Garth. I can't remember his name ever coming up before.

* * *

We pull into the driveway and all pile out of the Jeep and head inside with our books and backpacks. As soon as we hit the kitchen, the smell of seasoned steak and vegetables completely engulfs us. I take a deep breath and for the first time since being here, I'm tempted to talk and ask when dinner will be done.

"Oh, something smells amazing. When will it be done?" Rosalie asks. I can't help but smile. People always ask twins if there's some sort of mental connection. Rosie and I usually roll our eyes and shrug it off, but I swear sometimes I think she can read my mind.

"About twenty minutes." Esme answers with a smile. "How was school?"

Everyone but me answers. We drop our bags on the floor and our books on the counter. Emmett slides his ticket underneath one of his textbooks.

"Hi kids!" Carlisle calls happily from the living room. Rosalie smiles, picks her bag back up and bounces off to Carlisle. I follow behind her.

Carlisle sees us coming and smiles. He sets down a book he's reading on the side table and covers it with a magazine. Rosalie smiles plops down next to Carlisle before digging in her bag.

"Carlisle, look at what was passed out in my biology class today. It's a flier for the flu shot clinic at the hospital." She says. Carlisle watches with a smile. As he does, I use one finger to push the edge of the magazine up and read the title printed on the binding.

The Selective Mutism Treatment Guide

"Take a seat, buddy." Carlisle tells me, looking from my finger up to my eyes.

I let the magazine drop, embarrassed from being caught, and sit next to Rosalie. She pulls out a blue flier that has the words "FREE FLU SHOT CLINIC" printed in black ink at the top. There's details about the time and place in the middle and at the bottom is a picture of five doctors. Carlisle is right in the middle.

"Oh man," He chuckles awkwardly and runs his hands through his hair. "I didn't think they were serious when they told me they were putting our pictures on it."

"They passed it out to the whole school."

"The whole school?" Carlisle let's out a dramatic sigh. "Oh, man."

"I think it's cool." Rosalie smiles. Of course she thinks it's cool. She thinks anything anyone in this family does is cool.

"Hey, I want to talk to you two after dinner." Carlisle says, taking the flier and setting it on the magazine. "How does a walk in the park and to the ice cream parlor sound?"

"That sounds, uh," Rosalie hesitates. I pray she says no. "That sounds good."

Damn it, Rosie. There must be a glitch in that whole twin connection network.

"Don't worry, no one is in trouble." He promises with another smile. Rose smiles back and starts chattering about school. Carlisle listens closely and I let my mind wonder.

Seeing as I'm the only one in the house who doesn't have anything to say, I know that book is about me. But why? Why does he care? A lot of our past foster parents liked that I don't talk. It's always kept me out of their hair. Is it because he caught me stealing?

"Jasper, did you hear me?" Carlisle asks. "Do you like your gym class?"

I nod. He smiles.

"Good. I'm glad. You look stronger already."

He goes back to talking Rosalie, and Edward and Emmett join us. It isn't long until we're called into the kitchen to help set the table. With all six of us, it doesn't take long to get ready to eat. It does, however, crowd the kitchen. And when the kitchen is crowded, things get knocked over. Things like our text books.

"Shit!" Emmett hisses under his breath and drops to his knees to pick up the books. Carlisle scrunched up his brow up and kneels down too.

"You know that language isn't allowed in this house." Carlisle scolds him. He starts picking up the array of papers. I glance at Rose and we both hold our breath. Emmett rushes to grab everything before Carlisle does, but he's too late.

Carlisle notices the ticket and snatches it up. Emmett reaches for it, but Carlisle stands up before his hand reaches it.

"Emmett Dale McCarty," Carlisle talks gravely. "To your room. Now."

"Dad, I-" Emmett starts to say, but Carlisle cuts him off.

"Now, Emmett. We need to talk about this."

* * *

"I've spent my entire career helping people who have been injured from texting and driving and not wearing a seatbelt and speeding and I'll be damned if my own son is my next patient!"

Rosalie cringes as we hear Carlisle yelling upstairs. Esme sees it and reaches across the table to pat Rosalie's clenched hand.

"It's okay, sweetie." She says. Rosalie doesn't relax, though.

"It's not a big deal!" Emmett screams back.

"You had Edward and Rosalie and Jasper in the car! You were putting everyone at risk!" Carlisle keeps yelling.

"The cop only ticketed him for ten over." Edward says. "He was doing twenty over."

"You could have put all four of you kids in the hospital!" Carlisle bellows again.

"Don't tell your father that." Esme instructs. She pushes a bowl of mashed potatoes towards Edward. "Here, eat up."

I eye two thick steaks sitting in the middle of the table on a large platter. My steak is almost gone and I know the other two are for Carlisle and Emmett, but they look so good. The mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables are good, but nothing compared to the meat. I've never had steak this good before.

"You're grounded, Emmett Dale! You lost your phone and the Jeep for a month!"

"Are you fucking serious? You can't take my Jeep!"

"How was school?" Esme asks. None of us speak, though.

"Oh, yes I can!"

"No! Garth bought that for me! It's not yours to take!"

"Garth bought it? Hell no he didn't! All he did was make the down payment! What about when it was repossessed? Who paid to get it back? Who took over the payments because you were so broken hearted over losing it?"

"The evaluation is coming up, isn't it?" Edward asks with a heavy sigh. Esme nods.

"Yes, dear, it is."

"Evaluation?" Rosalie asks. "For what?"

"For our guardianship over Emmett. It's a yearly evaluation that just checks in to see how he's doing."

"Like our social worker?" Rosie questions.

"Yes, a lot like your social worker." Esme nods and smiles. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. It is simply a check up."

"What if they actually send him back to Garth this time?" Edward murmurs just loud enough for everyone to hear. Esme watches Edward and pierces her lips, Rosalie keeps her eyes glued to Esme, and I sneak another steak onto my plate.

"That's not going to happen."

"But what if it does?" Rosalie adds on.

"Honey, Garth isn't someone to worry about. He's a bitter old drunk who has so many CPS calls on him that he couldn't get Emmett back even if he had the money to petition the court."

"Garth said he'd start paying for it again!" Emmett keeps yelling.

"Oh really? And when did he say that?"

"When I talked to him last night!"

"Pay attention to the calendar, Emmett!" Carlisle shouts. "It's been five months since he last showed up! He does this to you all the time!"

"Five months?" Rosalie says so quietly it's almost a whisper.

"Six months without contact is abandonment. If Garth abandons him, then we can petition the court to get all his rights taken away." Esme explains. "But let's not talk about that right now."

"You know, Emmett said he wouldn't have to tell Dad about the ticket." Edward says. "He said he would just have Garth pay for it.

"Oh my God. That boy." Esme sighs heavily. "Definitely don't tell your father that."

"Carlisle said he was taking Jasper and I to the park and the ice cream parlor today after dinner." Rosalie mentions. Esme lets out another sigh.

"You know what? You guys keep eating. Let me go talk to your father." Esme says with a smile that doesn't match the stress in her eyes. She pushes her chair back from the table and leave the kitchen and bounds up the stairs.

For the first time since we got here, we are left alone with Edward. Nothing spectacular happens. We just kind of watch each other and focus on the yelling upstairs. Esme must be getting them to calm down, because it slowly stops.

By the time Esme and Carlisle come back down, the yelling stops completely and Carlisle plops down at the head of the table where he always sits. He glances at the platter in the middle with only one steak on it, then around at the other plates. Everyone's plate is near empty. Everyone's but mine. Carlisle laughs and stands from his seat, taking the platter with him.

"I'll let Emmett have this. I'll pick up some fast food on our drive."

 **Hi everyone! I meant for this chapter to be longer but I didn't want to wait any longer to post it. Please review and tell me what you think, what you'd like to see, or any suggestions. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Alice is really nice."

"Alice Brandon?"

"Yeah. Alice Brandon. She's always happy."

"That's good. And she's nice to you?"

"Yeah."

"And she's nice to you, Jasper?"

I look up from my shake to see Carlisle watching me with a smile. He's making sure to stay between Rosalie and I.

"Is she nice to you, Jasper?" He repeats. I shove a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and cookie dough in my mouth before shrugging. I really wasn't paying a lot of attention to their conversation.

"Jasper doesn't like her because she keeps trying to talk to him." Rosalie says. I shoot her an angry glare. I don't know what's with her and telling everyone our business. She couldn't still be mad at me about something, right?

"Well if you don't want to talk, then just don't do it." Carlisle says simply with a shrug.

There must be something in their ice cream to make them act like this. Carlisle just told me the other day that I'll have to start talking at some point. And Rosalie has never told so many people so much about me before. She knows I don't like that.

My mind wonders, though. What Esme said before going upstairs rattles through my mind.

 _Let me go talk to your father._

He isn't my father. He isn't Rosalie's father. He is Edward's father and he is Emmett's guardian and he is my foster parent and Rosalie's foster parent. I have a father, just like Emmett does. And Carlisle is not him. Does he think he is my dad just because I'm living in his house? Does he think he's all of a sudden my father because he's been taking care of me and Rosalie? Does Esme think that we're all a big happy family now?

My father is not Carlisle Cullen. My father is Ansel Whitlock.

Rosalie and Carlisle talk a little more about school and friends. He suggests that Rosalie invites Alice over some day. They don't say anything important. Just small talk. Which is fine by me. The fall air is crisp and refreshing. The park has a few other people wondering around, but it's a much more relaxed environment than school or the store. I take a deep breath and feel the cool air through my nose and in my lungs.

We finish our ice creams and go back to the car. I take my seat in the back behind the drivers seat so Carlisle can't see me. Rosalie sits in the front passenger seat. Their useless conversation continues and I fight back a yawn. I lean my head back against the headrest and close my eyes.

"Have you been keeping contact with your friends from your last school?" Carlisle asks.

"I didn't really have friends at my last school." Rosalie admits.

"Oh. Well, it sounds like you have friends at Carson. Like I said, if you ever want to have some friends over, just let us know."

They continue talking and I can't shake the image of my father from my mind. He is a tall, blond haired man. Or at least he use to be. I haven't seen him in about six years. He was a smoker and always smelt like cigarettes and beer. He could never find jeans long enough and always wore button up flannel shirts. He wore cowboy boots and a ball cap. He had a tattoo of a scorpion on his arm.

Long story short, he is nothing like Carlisle.

"Jasper?" Carlisle calls my name. I don't move, though, and keep my eyes closed.

"I think he's asleep." Rosalie tells him.

"That actually works well. I want to talk to you, Rosalie. About Jasper."

"What about Jasper?" She questions.

"What do I have to do to get him to talk to me?" He asks. Rosalie laughs out loud.

"He isn't going to talk to you. He's barely said a word to anyone but me since we were five years old."

"But he's had to talk to someone. You know him better than anyone else." He reasons. "There has to be something that I can do."

"Just ask him yes or no questions. That's how he likes to talk." Rosie says simply.

"That's not the same, though. He can't tell me if he's having problems at school or at home or trouble with his homework. He needs to be able to talk to me."

"Don't worry," Rosalie scoffs with a chuckle. "Jasper and I have taken care of each other for our whole life. If he has any problems, I'll take care of him."

"Rose, there are some things that you need to let an adult handle."

"I can handle my brother myself." She says. "I can handle him and whatever problems he runs in to."

"You two have had a lot of problems that you've ran into. I've seen your files. Your parents, the Callin's, the Grant's, Garcia's. You both have had a rough way to go. You are not an adult. Let me help you both."

"We don't need your help." Rosalie tells him harshly. "We've taken care of each other for this long. We're not stopping now."

"Let me clarify," Carlisle sighs. "I'm not asking you to stop taking care of him. I'm asking you to let me help."

"Face it, Carlisle. It's not going to happen. He's not talking to you, and you don't have to take care of him."

* * *

"Jasper, honey, relax. Shhh," Esme's soothing voice wakes me from my sleep. My hair is matted with sweat and my breathing is out of control. My eyes pop open to see her sitting on my bed next to me. Without thinking, I quickly sit up and push myself against the wall so I'm as far away from her as possible. She reaches up and pushed my hair from my face. "Jasper, relax. It's okay. You're okay."

I try to steady my breathing, but I can't.

"You're okay," She repeats. "I have some chamomile tea. I'll make you a cup and bring it up. It will help you sleep. You just lay back down and relax"

She smiles at me and leaves me room. I fall back to my pillow and mumble to myself that I can take care of myself, but I can't convince myself. Rosalie was right. She's always helped take care of me and I've always helped take care of her. I can't do this on my own.

I hop out of bed and go straight down the hall to Rosalie's room. I make a beeline for her bed and sit on the foot of it. I reach forward to shake her shoulder.

"Rosie, wake up." I say. "Come on, I need to talk to you."

She groans, but rubs her eyes with her fists and sits up. It takes her a few seconds to get her bearings, but once she sees it's me, she smiles.

"Hey, what's up?" She asks with a tired voice.

"I need you still. We need to take care of each other still."

"I know that," She responds simply. "Did you wake up upset again?"

I nod.

"You can sleep in here if you want. You just have to get your own pillow and blanket."

I smile, thank her, and make a quick trip back to my room. Once I have my blanket and a pillow, I go back to her room and settle in. We lay in opposite ways, so her feet are by my head and my feet are by hers.

"Rosie," I ask quietly. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, you know," I sigh and gulp down the lump forming in my throat. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Jasper, why would I be mad?"

"No reason."

"Is it because you got caught stealing? I'm not mad about that."

"Did Carlisle tell you I got caught?" I ask. I never told her that.

"No. I just knew you were in trouble and I overheard Carlisle and Esme say something about sticky fingers. I'm surprised you got caught. You're usually pretty good at it."

"Yeah. I just wasn't being careful."

"But why would I be mad?"

I sigh. She won't let it go, so I just give in.

"I heard you telling Alice about Dad."

She doesn't say anything right away. She sucks in a slow breath and let's it out in a soft sigh.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry." I tell her. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"I'm not mad. Jasper," She sighs again. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have told Alice your business. It's just that she's the only real girl friend that I have. I just wanted to talk to someone and she was willing to listen."

"But you can talk to me." I insist.

"I know. But it's not the same as talking to Alice. I'm sorry."

I don't say anything. I just stare up at the ceiling in the pitch black room.

"Goodnight, Jasper." Rosalie says quietly and rolls onto her side.

"G'night." I murmur back and close my eyes.

 **Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Emmett needs picked up from football practice at six-thirty, and Rosalie asked to go to Alice's house after school, so whoever picks up Emmett can get her on the way home," Esme says as she and Carlisle lean over a day planner that's graffitied with barely legible notes. "And this looks like, uh,"

"Edward's due for a new phone." Carlisle says, pointing to one particularly sloppy memo. Esme sighs. "He can upgrade today."

"Leave your doctor handwriting at the hospital, dear. I can barely read any of this."

Carlisle chuckles and rolls his eyes.

"So once school is out, one of us can take Edward to the mall for his phone. And we need to check out the laptops there, too. Emmett swears his is virus-infested beyond repair."

"I've spent good money on virus protection for everyone's computers. What is that boy looking up?" He smirks and Esme slaps his arm.

Carlisle is in a really, really good mood. He has the next two days off and isn't even on call.

"Speaking of laptops, Rosalie asked about borrowing someone's computer for a paper she's writing, and she said Jasper is going to need to borrow one for a history project. Let's get them their own laptops. They'll need it for the rest of high school and college and they shouldn't have to borrow someone's computer whenever they have a project." Esme says. Carlisle nods.

"You're right. And we can't trust Emmett's browser history in anyone's hands." He laughs again. "And we also have to stop at the pharmacy. Edward needs more nasal spray, Emmett needs more sports tape, Rosalie needs tampons, and I want to get Jasper some melatonin."

There's one good thing about not talking. People talk about me like I'm not here. I can get a lot of information if I stay quiet.

"Good thinking. So, do you want to take Emmett and Rosalie or Edward and Jasper?" Esme asks him.

"It doesn't matter to me-" He starts to say, but is cut off by the ringtone of his cell phone. He pulls it out of his pocket and lets out a heavy sigh when he reads the screen. "It's Garth."

He answers and keeps his voice hushed as he leaves the kitchen. He disappears towards the front door and I hear his heavy office door slam shut. I look up from my bowl of cereal at Esme.

"Don't worry, honey." She smiles at me. "Do you need anything else from the store?"

I shake my head no.

"Okay. Rosalie is going to pick up your homework. Hopefully between the melatonin and the lavender and tea you can get a better nights rest."

I shrug. If they let me stay home from school again for having a bad nights sleep, then I don't care how many times I wake up screaming. I stayed home today, which gives me a three day weekend. That's perfect for me.

It's not much longer until Carlisle comes charging out of his study. His face is red and his jaw and fists are clenched.

"I'll pick up Emmett and Rosalie. Me and that boy need to have a talk about Garth."

* * *

"And the memory is amazing. Look at this app I downloaded. I can write my own sheet music and on this other app, I can download sheet music." Edward explains happily as Carlisle looks at Edward's new phone over his shoulder.

I watch my new laptop screen. I don't really know what to do with it, honestly. I've downloaded all the programs Carlisle said I would need for school. It doesn't have any games on it other than solitaire and chess. Rosalie is engrossed in some online magazine in the living room. I'm still in the kitchen with Carlisle and Edward and a big bowl of grapes. I pull up the Internet browser and get to Google. The curser blinks as I try to think of something to look up.

"Dad, I'm leaving!" Emmett bellows as he charges down the stairs. Carlisle stands and sighs. Emmett tries to beat Carlisle to the door, but Carlisle gets there first. He stands in front of the door and keeps his hand on the door knob.

"You're grounded." Carlisle said firmly. "No going out."

"It's not like I'm going out with my friends." Emmett huffs.

"I told Garth you're grounded. You're not leaving this house."

"You can't keep me from my father!"

"You're not leaving this house." Carlisle repeats.

There's my google topic. I type in "can a guardian keep a child from his biological father".

"Garth is waiting!"

"Then he can keep waiting. I told him this morning that you're grounded."

I read a few of the descriptions under the links that pop up, but can't get a lot of information from them.

"He's my dad and I can go with him if I want." I Emmett grumbles.

"You're living in my house, so you will follow my rules. You're grounded and you're not leaving!"

"You can't deny him visitation!"

"Emmett, you are not-"

Carlisle is cut off when the door opens and thunks against his shoulder. He clenches his jaw before stepping aside and letting it open.

A man with into the house. Emmett smiles at him. The man is obviously Garth. His dark hair and blue eyes are the exact same as Emmett's. He's shorter than Emmett, though, and his round stomach sticks out like the belly of a pregnant woman. His t-shirt is stained and he has holes in the side of his shoes.

"Am I interrupting?" Garth asks. Carlisle glares at him.

"I told you he's grounded." Carlisle says angrilly.

"And I told you I wanted to see my son." Garth says calmly with a shrug of his shoulders.

"C'mon, just let me go." Emmett begs Carlisle. Carlisle shakes his head.

"You're grounded. You're not leaving this house. If he wants to see you, you two can sit at the table." Carlisle tells them and points to the dinning room table. Garth smiles and makes his way over with a leisurely walk. He plops down in the seat next to Edward.

"Hey, Eddie. Long time, no see." Garth greats happily.

"It's Edward. Not Eddie." Edward grumbles and stands from his seat. He takes his phone and goes into the living room. Garth looks at me next as Emmett sits across from him.

"You're new. The name's Garth." He says and reaches his hand out to me. I just stare at it. Garth lets his arm fall to his side and awkwardly clears his throat. I pick up my laptop and follow Edward into the living room.

"He's a real creep, isn't he?" Edward asks in a hushed voice. I nod yes.

Rosalie looks over her shoulder at them. Carlisle sits at the table next to Emmett. Even with his back towards us, we can tell from his tense shoulders that Carlisle is far from happy.

"Where's Mom?" Edward questions us again.

"She said she was going to take a bath." Rosie answers.

"Great. Dad's totally going to lose his cool." Edward sighs. "I'm going to text her. Let her know we have company."

"You know, he was lecturing Emmett about Garth today on the ride home." Rosalie says. This grabs Edward's attention and he raises one eyebrow up at her and for a split second, he could be easily mistaken for Carlisle at a quick glance.

"Oh? What did he say?"

"Well, Carlisle told Emmett that he shouldn't get his hopes up because he knows Garth won't stick around for long. Emmett wasn't happy about it, and told Carlisle that he's going to talk to Garth whether Carlisle likes it or not. And when we stopped at the pharmacy, only Carlisle went in and Emmett told me that he thinks Garth is serious this time." She whispers just loud enough for the three of us to hear. "But if Garth is as bad as everyone says he is, why does Emmett want to be around him? I don't even know where my father lives anymore, and I don't really care. I don't want him back in my life. But anyways, Emmett is thinking of taking Garth and Esme to the football parent-player banquet next month."

"He can't do that." Edward says and shakes his head. "Dad will be livid."

The two of them gossip back and forth, and I shift around on the couch so Rosalie and Edward can't see my laptop screen. Rosalie's words have me thinking. What is our father up to? Where is he living?

I finally have something interesting to Google.

I type in the name Ansel Whitlock and his "search".


	7. Chapter 7

It isn't hard to find my Dad. Ansel Whitlock isn't a very common name. I find a website that had our old address, some news articles about four different drunk driving incidences, two drug raids and one retail theft with his name in them. I know he's committed more theft than that, and in a weird way, it makes me smile. I got my Dad's hands.

"Go upstairs." Carlisle says firmly. All three of us on the couch look over into the kitchen.

"But-" Emmett starts to protest.

"No buts. Go upstairs." Carlisle repeats. Emmett doesn't move. He stared at Carlisle. "Emmett, go upstairs or you're going to be grounded for two more weeks."

Emmett let's put an agitated huff, stands from the table and storms upstairs.

"You know, you really should be nicer to the boy." Garth says in his raspy voice.

"I need to be nicer?" Carlisle scoffs. "I've been part of his life since the day he was born. He's treated like one of my own. Hell, he is one of my own. You're the one who needs to be nicer."

"I am nice to him. You never got him a car." Garth shrugs. Even though I'm a room away, Carlisle tense body and clenched fists and agitated voice.

"But I gave him a home. He's never had to worry about CPS or police showing up at my house. He's been clothed, fed, educated, entertained, loved," Carlisle counts out on his fingers. "Supported, encouraged and everything else that you refused to give him. So don't tell me I'm not nice to him. I've given him the life he deserves while you were putting your life ahead of his."

Garth shrugs and gets a wicked grin. He looks just like Emmett when he does this. That is, if Emmett put on weight and started to refuse basic hygiene habits.

"I let you give him that life. Technically, I gave him that life when I signed my rights to you."

"Get the hell out of my house!" Carlisle yells and points to the door leading to the garage. His arm shakes and his words seem to echo through the house and bring everything to a stop. Rosalie, Edward and I stay completely still.

And Garth chuckles before lazily making his way towards the door.

"I'm getting my boy back, Carl. We'll see what the courts say this time."

Garth leaves and Carlisle comes to the living room. I quickly shut my laptop so he can't see my Dad's name on the screen. He collapses into the couch next to Edward. His face is bright red and he must be cracking his teeth with how tightly he's clenching his jaw. He pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand.

"You okay, Dad?" Edward asks.

"It'll be fine," Carlisle murmurs. He must not of heard Edward correctly.

"What is going on?" Esme asks as she comes from the master bedroom, her hair still wet from the bath. "I heard screaming."

"Garth was over." Edward says quietly. "I text you about it."

"I didn't take my phone into the bathroom. What happened?" She sighs.

"Garth is going to fight for Emmett. And he's not just trying to win Emmett over anymore. He's going to fight it in court." Carlisle says with a heavy sigh.

No one says anything for a moment. The air is tense and stressful. I sink down a little lower in my seat, but them jump when Carlisle yells for Emmett.

"Come downstairs, Emmett!" He calls. "Let's go to the batting cages!"

"You're letting me go?" Emmett calls back over the pounding of his footsteps. He charges down the steps, yanking on his varsity jacket as he goes. Carlisle stands from the couch and meets Emmett at end of the steps. Emmett looks around Carlisle for Garth. "Where's my dad?"

"C'mon. Let's go." Carlisle speaks softly. Emmett pierces his lips but when Carlisle heads to the door to the garage, Emmett follows.

"What did Garth say?" Ends asks us once we hear the car start.

Rosalie and Edward fill her in on every detail and every word said. While they're distracted, I open my laptop again and look at all the pages with Ansel Whitlock's name on them.

My gut tells me to just close the pages and never think of my father again. After all he did to me, what he put me and Rosalie through, why would I want to speak to him? He use to beat me from one end of the house to the other. He thought it was funny to play horrible mind games with me. He called me useless, pathetic, stupid, and tons of other things on the daily. I could never please him. Even after we were taken away from him the first time, he never once acted like he was going to try to change how he treated me. Did it even bother him when they took us for good?

But then again, we were so much younger when the social worker took us from our Dad. It's been years. He could have changed since then.

And is there really any harm in just looking him up?

* * *

I keep sipping tea from the tall thermal cup Esme got for me. My bedroom wrecks of lavender. Esme bought me a lot for my room. There's a small light that plugs into the wall and heats up wax in the little dish above it. Of course, the wax is lavender. She sprayed lavender air freshener right before I went to bed. She bought a special bottle of lavender laundry detergent and washed my sheets in it. There's a bottle of gummy melatonin on my nightstand. A small silver box is under by bed that is suppose to be playing white noise or thunderstorm sounds or rain or a fire burning, but I turned it off. Esme had it set to white noise. It's suppose to be relaxing but it's not.

All this crap might be helping, though. I woke up screaming again, but I wasn't so loud that I woke up Esme. Carlisle got called to the hospital shortly after he left with Emmett for the batting cages, so it's just her in their room tonight.

I reach under my nightstand and pull out my laptop. Now that I'm in the privacy of my own room, it's easy to look up what I want to look up. I type "Ansel Whitlock" into Google again. His name, mugshot, and a few public criminal records come up. I scroll down until I find a new link that I haven't explored yet.

"Ansel Whitlock's Facebook Page"

I can't see much on his page, but I know it's him. His profile picture is a close-up of his scorpion tattoo. It says his single and has his birthday displayed, but it says that I need to make a profile of my own to view more of his.

I click the "sign up" button at the top of the page.

* * *

I've spent two hours on this stupid website. I filled in as little information as I could but just enough that Ansel would be able to trust that it's really me. My eyes burn as I stare at the computer screen and his scorpion tattoo.

Emmett wants to know his real dad. Do I want to know mine? The question rolls around my empty mind. I can't think straight. I need to get some more sleep.

Before powering off my laptop for good for the night , I hit the friend request button.


	8. Chapter 8

I slump down in my seat at the dinner table and glare into the living room. Rosalie was going to help me come up with a topic for my history project. Instead, she invited Alice over and the two of them are sitting on the couch laughing and gossiping and painting each other's nails.

"Don't look so gloomy, Jasper." Esme says as she wipes down the table from our dinner. I glare over at her before looking back into living room. She sighs and cups her hand under my chin, pulling my face to look at her again. I pull my chin back, but it doesn't help. "Young man, you cannot sit here giving the evil eye to our guests. If you can't be nice, then go somewhere private."

She drops her hand and I stand from the table. I give one last glare at the girls in the living room before stomping up the stairs. I slam my door shut and then flop down on my bed. As soon as I do, my phone buzzes. I pull it out of my pocket to read a text from Esme.

 _Stop slamming doors. Carlisle just finished a twenty hour shift at work and is trying to rest._

I roll my eyes. I'm really not concerned about him.

My hand clenches my phone, and I drop it so I don't break it. I run my fingers through my hair, but they shake. I jump up and start pacing my room.

I was starting to think this place wouldn't be too bad, but I obviously was wrong. I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to be a part of this family. Rosalie and I were better at other foster homes. At least we had each other at other homes.

Rosalie basically forgot about me here. She's replaced me with Alice and Emmett. She wants to tell people things about me. She brushes me off to hang it with her friends or flirt with Emmett.

I want to get out of here, but I have no where to go. We're too far from town to walk anywhere and Emmett can't drive me anywhere, so I'm stuck home.

I hate it here. No friends, no sister, no family. Nothing.

I grab my laptop from underneath my bed and power it on. It takes a few seconds to come to life, and the screen pops up with only a few icons for things like my picture files, documents, solitaire, and paint. I really don't have anything important saved. I click on the Firefox browser icon and navigate to Facebook. There's a notification telling me Ansel accepted my friend request, and there's a message waiting for me from him.

I take in a deep breath before opening it.

 _Wow. You've grown up. How are you? How's Rosie? Is she with you? She refuses to add me on here. What have you been up to? Where are you living? Are you guys okay? Message me back._

I smile. I don't know why, but I do. I guess it's just nice to finally have someone here to talk to.

 _Hi Dad. I'm okay. Rosie's really good. We're in Clark county. The family were with is okay._

My message seems too short, but I don't know what else to do with it. There's so much that has happened since he's last seen me. There's so much that he doesn't know, so much that I could tell him, but I can't help but hold back. This has to go slow. But there is one thing I want to add on.

 _I haven't been talking to anyone, just like you asked._

I reread the message, and finally decide to his send.

* * *

"Jasper," Carlisle's tired voice calls on the other side of my bedroom door. "You awake?"

I quickly shut my laptop and shove it back under my bed before going to open my door. Of course I'm awake. It's only seven o'clock. Carlisle leans against the door frame, still in pajama bottoms and a hooded sweatshirt. His eyes are so bloodshot that it's almost scary.

"Come to the store with me. I need someone to keep me awake."

I nod and he slowly shifts his weight back to his feet and drags them over to the stairs. I follow him to the main floor and to the door. Esme comes rushing over to us as we pull on our shoes.

"Carlisle Cullen, you should not be driving!" She scolds. "You're too tired!"

"If I sleep anymore now, I won't be able to sleep tonight." He explains with a grumble. "Besides, I want a Pepsi. We don't have any pop in this house."

"And how are you going to stay awake behind the wheel?" She asks. Carlisle reaches for his keys on the counter, but Esme snatches them before he can.

"You said to take one of the kids with me." Carlisle huffs and gestures towards me.

"Carlisle, he doesn't talk!" She tells him under her breath. "I told you to take one of the kids with you so they could talk to you to keep you awake!"

I try not to scoff, but it _is_ a little funny. It's a little condescending too.

"Rose has a friend over, you don't want to leave the kids alone in the house, Emmett and Edward won't speak to me." He shrugs again.

"Edward won't talk to you?" Esme questions. "Carlisle, Edward isn't home!"

Carlisle scrunches up his eyebrows and scratches his head.

"Where is he?" Carlisle asks.

"He's at Bella's house."

"Bella?"

"Yes. His date for the winter dance. Remember?" Esme asks. She speaks slowly and deliberately like he's stupid.

"Right. That's why he didn't answer when I knocked on his door." Carlisle mumbles. "Give me my keys. Come on, Jasper. Let's go."

Esme shakes her head and goes to the refrigerator. She pulls out a cold bottle of water and hands it to Carlisle.

"You want your keys? Then drink this. You need to wake up some more before you leave anywhere."

Carlisle rolls his eyes but opens the bottle and starts chugging. Esme opens a drawer and pulls out a pack of gum. He sets the bottle down when he's halfway gone. His eyes come alive as the cold water hits his system.

"All of it," Esme demands and nudges the bottle towards Carlisle again. He sighs, but does as he's told. Once he finishes it and chucks in the garbage can, Esme hands the pack of gum to him. "Chew this. You need to make sure you are wide awake."

"I'm awake." He promises. "I'll be fine. I'll talk to Jasper the whole time. He doesn't need to talk back. We'll be fine."

Esme hesitates before handing over the keys. Once she does, Carlisle walks out but she puts her hand on my arm to stop me.

"Make sure he stays awake." She tells me.

* * *

"And then we have a meeting with our lawyer tomorrow to discuss our options with Garth. God, I hate that man. Thinks he can just waltz in and out of Emmett's life. It's ridiculous. And you know what else is ridiculous? This damn hospital job. You know, I had the option to become chief of the ER." Carlisle rattles on and on. "I didn't do it though. I thought it would be too much paperwork and not enough patient interaction. But the chief doesn't go on call. I should have taken that position. I mean, dear God, I'm too old for this. I have four teenagers. I can't be working such long shifts. Four teenagers and a wife. A wife who can drive me insane. Don't get me wrong, Jasper, I love the woman. I love her more than I ever thought possible, but damn, she can drive me insane. 'Drink all the water, Carlisle'," He says in a mocking voice.

He's on a roll. He started his tangent the moment I sat in the passenger seat.

"But I love her and her nagging. She wants us to renew her vows. I don't really see the point in it. It's just going to cost me an arm and a leg, but if that's what she wants, then that's what I'll do. All for her. God, listen to me," He smirks and chuckles. "Complaining about a wife who cares too much. Ridiculous."

He's quiet for about a minute before he starts back up.

"So Esme wants to settle down." He says simply. I raise a questioning brow at him. Isn't 'settling down' what happens when you get married? "I was talking to her about it the other day. Emmett use to get so angry at me because I would have to miss his games and meets because of work. And I've missed recitals and plays that Edward's been in. It's not fair to you kids. If I can't dedicate myself to being a father, then it's not fair to keep bringing kids into our home who desperately need a father. Do you understand where I'm getting with this?"

My stomach drops and suddenly, I'm conflicted. Just a short while ago I hated it here. I know what Carlisle is going to say. I've been given this speech before by foster parents. "It's not you, it's me" they say. Rosie and I will be moving again. We will lose contact with Edward, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Rosalie's other friends. Even though I couldn't care less about Alice, it will hurt Rosalie to leave another friend behind. As for myself, I'm not happy about it either.

I cross my arms over my chest a slump down in the seat. I don't even look at Carlisle. I keep my head turned towards the window.

"We want to adopt you and Rosalie and then get out of foster care."

My head snaps to his directions as fast as it can. I furrow my brows at him and wonder if I heard him correctly.

"That is, only if you're happy with our family. Esme worries a lot about you. She doesn't think you're happy here."

I keep staring at him. He doesn't seem to notice though.

"She said you were upset today over something. Something about you being mad at Rosalie or Alice? What's that about?" Carlisle asks and waits a few seconds like he really expects me to answer him. "Just think about it for a little while, okay?"

* * *

Carlisle loads a grocery cart full of different cases of pop. I'm pretty sure he has every flavor and brand the store offers. Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mt. Dew, Seven Up, root beer, cherry cola, red pop. He just keeps stacking them on top of each other.

I have to stand next to him with my hands in my pockets so I don't take anything. Carlisle obviously didn't believe me when I said I wouldn't steal anymore and to be honest, he really shouldn't believe me. When I said I wouldn't steal anymore, I meant I wouldn't be caught stealing anymore.

"Did I get a kind you like?" He asks me. I nod yes. He drops one more case of pop into the cart. "Good."

He pushes the cart towards the front of the store and I follow behind him, but he reaches back and pulls me to the side of him.

"Stay where I can see you." He says a little too loudly. We pass a small old lady eyes me like I'm a criminal. I'm sure she heard about my last visit here. Word travels too fast in this town.

Once we make it to the register, Carlisle starts unloading the cart. The cashier, the same young guy who was working when I got caught, widens his eyes as he sees all the pop. I keep my hands in my pockets just like I was instructed to in the parking lot and let Carlisle do the heavy work.

The cashier starts ringing them up and I take my hands out of my pockets to hold the corner of a floppy magazine on the shelf at the register.

"Pockets, Jasper!" He scolds me. I groan, but do as he says.

It takes the cashier a while to ring up all of the pops, and the owner, Tom, comes out to chat with Carlisle, but I know he's watching me too. He mentions how tired Carlisle looks and talks about how lucky the hospital is to have him. Carlisle loads the cart back up as Tom sings his praises and before we walk out of the store, Carlisle calls over his shoulder to Tom.

"Don't worry about my boy. He hasn't touched a thing."

I duck my head and roll my eyes as I feel my cheeks blush. I drag my feet out to the car. Carlisle pops the truck and loads the pop, so I plop down in the front passenger seat and think about what the hell Carlisle just told me about wanting to adopt me and Rosalie.

Do I like it here? Do I not like it? I'm not sure. I hated it here earlier today. And I hated it here when we first moved in. Emmett isn't happy here and he knows the family better than I do. But Rosalie likes it. She really likes it here. And Esme really cares for both of us. But she wasn't happy with me today. If we move, I wouldn't have to worry about Rosalie picking her friends of me anymore.

Carlisle gets in the drivers seat and starts the engine, but doesn't pull away. Instead, he leans his head against the back of the seat, intertwines his fingers and puts them on his forehead. His eyes shut and the only noise is the hum of the engine. He stays like that for about a minute, and I start to wonder if he fell asleep. I take a deep breath.

"I don't like Alice." I say quietly and nervously. My voice shakes. "That's why I was mad today."

Carlisle keeps still. I take a deep breath and lean against the window to wait for Carlisle to wake up.

 **Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay. One, two, three," Emmett counts down as we pose around him for a picture. When he suggested that we take a selfie for Facebook, Rosalie jumped up to make sure she got close to him. She stands behind him, slightly to the side, and has her hands on his shoulder. She smiles and tried to hold her balance on her tip-toes so her face isn't blocked by Emmett's big frame. I'm next to her, sticking my head in just enough for a good picture, and Edward is on Emmett's other side.

Carlisle and Esme are gone to their lawyer appointment right now, leaving the four of us home alone. Emmett is happier than usual with Esme and Carlisle out of the house, and he and Rosalie have been flirting all day.

"You look great," Emmett says to Rosalie with a wink as he shows her the picture. She smiles back.

It's disgusting.

We all settle back down onto the sectional and if Emmett and Rosalie want to get any closer, they're going to have to share clothing. Every time one of them got up to grab a drink or go to the bathroom, they sat closer together when they returned. They weren't very sneaky about it though. I knew exactly what they were doing and I'm sure Edward noticed it too.

I want to watch the movie Edward put on, but I keep glancing over at my sister. She doesn't even notice that I'm watching her. She just keeps making lovey dovey eyes at Emmett. He gives her this sly smile and points up to the TV where two cars are racing.

"You know, racing is pretty cool, but you know what's better? Mudding." He tells her. "My Wrangler can get through any mud hole."

Rosalie's eyes light up.

"Really? I love mudding!"

I roll my eyes. She's never been mudding before.

"Oh yeah? Let's go. There's some trails in the back of the property. We can take the Wrangler out."

"No you can't!" Edward pipes up. "You're grounded! Dad has your keys."

"You think I don't know where he put them?" Emmett laughs out loud and stand from the couch. He heads to Carlisle and Esme's bedroom. Rosalie follows like an eager puppy.

"Mom and Dad are going to kill you if you take the Jeep!" Edward yells to them. We can't hear their response, but both Emmett and Rosalie bust out laughing.

They bound out of the bedroom, Emmett leading the way with his keys in hand. I jump up and rush towards them. Edward follows behind me.

"Dad's not going to find out, right?" Emmett asks us. I glare at Rosalie. Edward rolls his eyes.

"He's going to find out on his own when he sees the Jeep has been moved." Edward shoots back. Emmett simply shakes his head no before holding the door open for Rosalie.

I grab her arm and give it a slight tug. We've done this before, and she knows that means I want to talk to her in private. She just shakes my hand off, though.

"Leave me alone, Jasper. I'm going with Emmett." She demands. Without even bothering to look back at me, she turns on her heels and walks out the door.

I'm left next to Edward with my jaw on the floor. I can't believe her!

"Dad's going to kill both of them." Edward tells me. I scowl at the door as it slams shut. We hear the engine roar to life. "Hey, it's their funeral. C'mon, I want to see the rest of the movie."

I follow Edward back to the living room with my fists and jaw clenched. If Rosalie wants to run off and leave without even thinking about me, then fine. I'm not waiting up for her.

"Hear that?" Edward asks me with wide eyes. He mutes the television and I can hear a motor coming closer. "Is that the Jeep or the Mercedes?"

I shrug. I don't really know the sound difference.

"Dad's gonna kill them both."

I shrug again. I tried to stop her.

Edward turns the volume back up and we wait for Esme and Carlisle to come inside. I sink down into couch and Edward does the same. As soon as they step into the house and the door slams shut, it's obvious that they're angry.

"Where's the Jeep?" Carlisle bellows.

"But I wasn't grounded!" Rosalie argues with Carlisle in the living room. Emmett already charged upstairs to his bedroom.

"You knew Emmett was grounded, and it was wrong of you to go with him knowing that. You should have stayed home." Carlisle lectures her, wagging a finger at her. "Go to your room!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" She continues to protest.

"Do you want to make it three weeks? Because you're pushing for three weeks." Carlisle threatens. Rosalie doesn't say anything. She just crosses her arms over her chest and pouts. "Go to your room! Now!"

Rosalie glares at him before turning on her heels and stomping up the stairs. I watch from the couch and keep a smirk from showing.

"This isn't fair!" Rosalie yells one more time before slamming her bedroom door.

"Three weeks, Rosalie!" Carlisle yells back at her.

Sounds good to me. Three weeks grounded meant three weeks without having to deal with Alice.

Carlisle lets out a heavy sigh before coming over to the couch and flopping down. He leans his head back against the couch and closes his eyes. He still hasn't recovered from his long shift.

"What did the lawyer say, Dad?" Edward asks.

"She suggested that, because of Emmett's age, we let Emmett choose who to live with. Since Garth hasn't had any CPS calls on him in years, then the judge will just ask for Emmett's preference." Carlisle explains with a slow and heavy tone, like it's painful to say. "So it's up to Emmett."

"Hey, wake up kiddo." Carlisle's voice pulls me out of my panicked sleep. I shoot up in bed, huffing and puffing as I try to catch my breath. Carlisle's sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at me. "Are you okay?"

Even if I wanted to talk, I wouldn't be able to. As I gasp for air, I nod yes. Carlisle doesn't move, though. Instead, he pats my hand.

"Do you want to go for a ride with me? I think some fresh air would do us both some good. I can't sleep either."

It takes me a moment to process his request. Why would he want to go for a ride with me? My first instinct is to tell him no, but then I remember his mention of adoption. I nod yes again, even thought my trouble isn't falling asleep. It's just sleeping peacefully that I can't do.

He smiles at me and stands from my bed. He already has a pair of jeans on. I wonder what he's planning on doing.

I crawl out of bed and shuffle my way to my closet. Once Carlisle steps out of my room, I change into the softest pair of jeans I have, grab my phone, I lazily follow Carlisle's path out. He's already pulling on his tennis shoes by the door.

Once we're in the car and heading down the road, I get comfortable in the front seat and lean my head against the window. This November air is perfect. It's my favorite month because the air is chilly enough to be comfortable in sweats, but still bearable. The feeling of cool air in my lungs is oddly soothing. I roll the window down just enough to feel the air.

We drive for over ten miles before Carlisle says anything.

"I hate that Rose went with Emmett. I hate that she got in trouble. She's a good kid, both of you are, and she should have known better." He sighs. "But I guess that's all a part of being a teenager. Is three weeks excessive?"

I start to shrug, but then remember that the longer she's grounded, the longer I get to go without dealing with Alice at home. I shake my head no.

"Esme was thinking it was excessive. But she got an extra week added on for talking back. I didn't realize she had such a mouth on her. Up until now I don't think I've ever heard a cross word from her."

I snort. It's obvious that he hasn't seen her pissed before. She can turn into a real bitch if you make her mad enough.

"Have you talked to her about I told you?" He asks. "The adoption, I mean."

I shake my head no.

"Are you happy here?"

I don't respond. I just look down at my shoes. Carlisle sighs again.

"If you're not, just say so." He tells me. "You won't hurt anyone's feelings. Just be honest."

I roll the window down a little more to get a bigger wave of air in the car. Carlisle keeps driving. He lets out one more sigh, but that's it. We drive about another ten miles before I get a strange wave of courage.

"I don't like Alice. I like it here, but I don't like Alice."

Carlisle doesn't respond right away. He smiles first.

"So you don't like Alice? Why is that?"

I shrug.

"I think she likes you, though. I overheard he talking to Rosalie about you the other day. She thinks you're cute."

"No," I groan.

"Yes," Carlisle laughs. "She does. Most boys would be happy to know a girl like Alice likes them."

I scowl and look back out the window.

"That's fine, though, if you don't like her back. But what don't you like about her?"

I shrug.

"Just keep an open mind. Who knows, she might want you to take her to the winter dance."

I scoff. I'm not going to the winter dance.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Carlisle asks. "Anything at all? Anything bothering you?"

I feel just like I did with my Dad. There's so much I could tell him, but do I want him to know all that?


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, Jasper!" Rosalie smiles as she slides into the bathroom. She sets on the back of the toilet tank and puts her feet on the closed lid. "Can you log onto my Facebook on your computer? Alice said she was going to message me about a sleepover she's having for her birthday next weekend."

I don't even acknowledge that she entered the bathroom. I keep scrubbing my teeth.

"Hello?" She asks sarcastically. I spit in the sink and duck my head under the faucet to wash my mouth out. "C'mon Jasper. Please?"

I keep ignoring her as I unscrew the lid off of the mouthwash bottle. Rosalie sighs, and I gargle.

"Why aren't you talking to me?"

I spit again, wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, and walk out. Rosalie follows me out.

"Seriously, Jasper, what's up?" She keeps asking. I head to my room, but she grabs my hand to stop me. "Why won't you talk to me?"

I look over my shoulder at her for a second before shaking her hand off of mine and leaving her in the hall. I slam my bedroom door without looking back at her.

It's been two weeks since she got grounded, two weeks since the lawyer told Carlisle and Esme to let Emmett decide when to see his father, and two weeks since I talked to Carlisle. Rosalie has been very short with Carlisle and Esme, Emmett has been spending the past two Saturdays with Garth, and I haven't spoken to anyone since then.

Not even Rosalie.

She's pissed about it, but I'm pretty annoyed with her too. If she doesn't have time for me between Emmett and Alice, then I don't have time for her.

I pull my laptop from under my bed, power it up, and log onto my Facebook account. I check my friend requests, I've actually gotten a lot more than I expected to from kids from school, check my notifications, and finally click on my messages. There's a message from my Dad that I've left sitting in my inbox for the past two weeks.

 _You've always been good about keeping your mouth shut. Your Mom is somewhere in Maine. I left her after you and Rosalie were stolen away from us. You were the only thing keeping us together. I haven't talked to her in years. If you can get Rosalie to message me that would be great. She's a lot like your mother. You're more like me though. What grade are you in now? What things do you like? You're not planning on going to college, are you? When you turn eighteen, I can get you a job at the factory I work at. You start at $15 an hour and can make up to $20. They will even hire felons. Have you gotten any felonies?_

Even I can't deny how strange his message is. After Rosie and I were stolen away? He doesn't know what grade I'm in? Have I gotten any felonies? He hasn't talked to me in years and he ends the letter asking if I've gotten felonies at the age of fifteen? But as confused as I am about the seriousness of the questions he has, I type a message back.

 _Rosalie has been acting weird lately. I haven't talked to Mom since we left. I don't have any college plans right now. I'm in tenth grade. What do you make at the factory? I didn't know you had a felony charge._

It's short, but effective. I hit send, power off the laptop, and wonder downstairs. Rosalie sits with Esme on the couch, whining that I won't talk to her.

"Honey, he may just need some time to himself. He'll come around." Esme promises her. Rosalie stares at me as I come down the steps and head into the kitchen. I grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator and look at the calendar on the wall. Carlisle is working until two o'clock today, so I'll have to find a way to keep myself busy until he gets home. He's been working on finishing some paper he wants published, so he's been spending tons of time in his office, and since I keep to myself and don't interrupt him, I get to hang out in there with him. I can do my school work, read, draw, play around on my laptop. It's pretty cool, and much better than running around avoiding my sister.

 **Hi guys! So this is obviously a shorter chapter, but I wanted to hurry and get it up. Review and let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

I slowly wonder around Carlisle's office. It is wall-to-wall bookshelves that ae stacked full. Books, thick binders, medical journals, dictionaries, photo albums, picture frames and different odds and ends fill up every space there is. I examine a brass figure of a man on a horse reared up on its back legs. Next to it is a little nameplate that is only about two inches long and only half an inch tall. "Worlds #1 Dad" is engraved into it. I pick it up, and its cold metal is much heavier than I expected. I roll it from palm to palm a few times before I slide it into my pocket. Carlisle has so many little things in here that he won't notice one item missing.

I scan the book titles. Battered spines, new spines, spines hidden by book covers and spines with water damage. They're everywhere. This library has to be worth hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars. And that's just in books. The bookshelves must be made with heavy wood to support all of this. They must be expensive too.

"Jasper!" Carlisle's voice pulls me from my wondering eyes. I jump and my heart races. Did he see me take his paperweight? He smiles at me, though, so he must not have. "What are you doing in here?"

"I, uh, um," I stammer over my words before finally just piercing my lips closed. Rosalie is finally done with her three weeks of punishment, so Alice is over. I decided to wait for Carlisle here in his office instead of hanging out with them.

"Why are you hiding in here where there's a sweet girl out there who would love your company?" He asks as he comes over to me. He pats my shoulder. "Jasper, I know you said you don't like Alice, but why can't you just give her a chance?"

I scoff.

"Just hear me out, buddy." Carlisle says. "Go out there, make some popcorn, and just sit next to her. Offer her some. They're watching a movie, so there won't be any pressure to talk."

I shrug and glance down at my shoes. Carlisle puts one finger under my chin and lifts my head up.

"Give it a shot, kiddo."

He pats my shoulder one more time before giving me a little nudge to the door. I take only one step before freezing in place.

"Just this once, Jasper. If it doesn't go well, I won't say another thing about her." He promises.

That's enough incentive to get me moving.

I do exactly as he suggested. I go in the kitchen, pull out a bag of microwavable popcorn. I stare at the back of Rosalie's and Alice's head as it cooks. My throat tightens and my stomach flips, but I do my best to push those feelings away.

"I can keep myself safe," I murmur under my breath.

The microwave beeps and I pour the bag into a big bowl. One more deep breath, and I head to the living room.

Rosalie smiles when she sees me, but that quickly turns into a frown as I sit gingerly next to Alice. Alice's face lights up, though.

"Hi, Jasper!" She says with a big smile.

I smile back, but it's weak and forced. It's nothing like her vibrant smile. I tilt the bowl of popcorn towards her. She keeps smiling as she takes a few popped cornels before turning her attention back to the television.

Rosalie doesn't respond as happily. She sinks down a little lower in her seat and glares at me. She mean mugs me for a few minutes, and I have to admit, it feels better to have her glaring at me instead of me glaring at her. I yawn and put my arm over the back of the couch, letting my fingers brush down on Alice's shoulder. She raises her eyebrows at me with a disgusted look.

I guess she's realizing how much it sucks to be replaced.

* * *

"It's so nice to have you home for dinner," Esme smiles and pats Emmett's arm. He gives her a big smile.

"I miss your nice meals. Dad-" Emmett starts to say, but quickly covers it up with a cough. "Garth can't cook at all."

"Well, you do live here. You could eat all of your meals here." Esme chuckles, but I can see the hurt in her eyes. Garth has been picking Emmett up from school and dropping him off back at the house late at night. On the weekends, Emmett spends more time sleeping here than anything else. As soon as he wakes up on Saturday, he texts Garth to come pick him up, and doesn't come back until Sunday evening.

"Yeah," Emmett nods slowly. He puts on another big smile, wraps his arm around Esme's shoulder and hugs her.

We all sit down at the table. Edward is gone, too. He's with Bella again, so Alice sits in Edward's normal spot at the table. Before Rosalie has the chance too, I sit next to Alice. Rosalie scowls at me before sitting down across from Alice. Esme and Carlisle sits on either side of the table, and Emmett sits near Carlisle. He looks at Carlisle and smiles.

"How have you been, Dad?" He asks. Carlisle smiles back.

"I've been good, buddy. How about you?"

They make small talk as the rest of us dive into the three pizza boxes stacked on top of each other in the middle of the table. I pile three slices onto my plate and start chowing down. Alice eats like a bird, only taking tiny bites.

Things feel alright. Other than Rosalie being a little jealous, everyone is happy.

* * *

"I can't believe he sat with me," Alice says to Rosalie with a happy sigh. I hold back a chuckle so they don't know I'm listening outside of Rosalie's bedroom. "I didn't think he even liked me."

"I can't believe you actually like him." Rosalie scoffs. "I mean, he's kind of gross. And do you really want to be with someone who won't even talk to you?"

"We can work past that. He's already warming up to me. And have you noticed his muscles? Oh, my, gosh. Your brother is hot!"

I tiptoe away from the door and head to the steps. I duck into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I pull my shirt off. My shoulders are more defined, my biceps are getting bigger, my abs stronger. I take a picture with my phone. Personal Weight Lifting has been paying off.

I pull my shirt back on and bound down the steps. I want to talk to Carlisle about Alice. He, Esme, and Emmett are all gathered in the living room. Carlisle and Esme are sitting on the couch, and Emmett is standing in front of them with his hands folded and a worried look on his face. I pat Carlisle's shoulder to get his attention.

Carlisle turns and looks at me and it's easy to tell that he's upset. He stands from the couch, comes over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, kiddo. Go back upstairs, okay. We need to talk to Emmett privately." He says and walks me back to the steps.

"I want to talk to you." I tell him with my voice quiet enough to keep anyone else from hearing.

"And I want to talk to you too, but I can't right now. Later tonight we will." He promises. He pats my back one more time before heading back to the couch.

I head back up to the second floor, slowly so I can hear what's going on.

"It's not like I wouldn't see you anymore. I would come visit still. I could come on the weekends. I would just be staying with Garth during the week. And you'll still have Rose and Edward and Jasper." Emmett says.

Shit. That happy moment didn't last long.

I go up to my room and slam the door. Perfect. Just perfect. Everyone was getting along, and now Emmett is pulling this crap.

I take my laptop out to distract me. As it powers on, I open the drawer on my end table and put the little nameplate paper weight I took from Carlisle's office in it. I pull up Facebook, go straight to my messages and open one from my Dad.

 _Hi son. I hope you're having a good day. I'm working overtime tonight. If you ever need anything, just let me know. I'll get it for you. I can give you some cash. If Rosie wants anything, let me know. Or if you want to order anything online I can have it shipped to your house._

I type another message back.

 _My dad was going okay until my foster brother said he's moving back in with his biological dad. That kind of sucks for the rest of us. But other than that I'm okay. I don't think we need anything. Our foster parents are pretty well off. Thanks though._

I re-read my message a few times to make sure it's exactly what I want to say to him. I remember when Rosalie and I were little. He had such a temper. One wrong word and he would practically put me through a wall for it.

But this time, he can't put his hands on me. Not through Facebook. I erase the message and start over again.

 _My day has been alright. I could use an Itunes card for my phone, though. Thanks Dad._

I hit send and smile. Maybe this is a good thing.


	12. Chapter 12

"Jasper!" Rosalie calls as she knocks vigorously on my bedroom door. "Jasper, I'm coming in! I _have_ to talk to you!"

My door flings open. I shut my laptop and Rosalie bounces over to my bed. She plops down cross legged at my feet. Her smile is bigger than it's been in a long time.

"Jasper, I just had the best conversation with Carlisle and Esme. Oh my God, Jasper, you're not going to believe this!" She grabs my hand in hers. "Jasper, Carlisle and Esme want to adopt us!"

I can't help but smile at her. I slide my laptop under my end table and head to my bedroom door. Once it's shut, I make my way back to Rosalie. He smile has faded a little bit, but once I sit next to her and pull her into a hug, she smiles again. She hugs me so tight that it almost hurts.

"This is the best, Jasper!"

"I know, Rosie." I say.

Rosalie pulls away from my hug and hold me by my shoulders at arms distance. She keeps smiling, happy as can be. Her eyes start to water up.

"You're talking to me again?"

I nod. This moment is more important than making her jealous of Alice.

"I love you, Jasper." She hugs me again. "This is going to be so nice. I can't wait!"

"I know," I repeat. I kiss the side of her head. "I love you too."

"Jasper, we're finally going to have a family. A normal family like everyone else." She tells me with a happy sigh.

She keeps hugging me. It's been a while since I've seen her so happy.

 **Sorry this chapter is so short, but the next chapter will be longer. Please review and tell me what you think!"**


	13. Chapter 13

"Go try this on." Esme tells me as she hands me a black button-down dress shirt. I sigh, but take it into the dressing room. The tag says medium, so I know it will fit me. There's no point in trying it on. I don't even know if I want to go to this stupid dance.

Once I get to the dressing room, I pull my tee-shirt over my head and shake out the folded up dress shirt. When I pull it on, though, it is pulled tight on my shoulders. I turn my back to the mirror and look over my shoulder. I'm pretty sure I've gained bigger muscles since I head Alice say I'm hot. Medium shirts have always fit me just fine. I unbutton the shirt, yank my tee-shirt back on and head back to join Esme and Edward. I put the medium shirt back and grab a large.

"I need a pink tie. Bella's dress is pink." Edward says franticly. "Her dress and my tie are supposed to match, right?"

"Yes, honey. Just relax. We will get you the right tie." Esme promises.

"It has to be the right shade. If it's not the right shade, then we will look ridiculous!"

"If it doesn't match, then we will just take it back and get the right shade."

"This is stressful." He says with a heavy huff. Esme smiles and pats his shoulder.

"You're just making it stressful, honey."

He's been freaking out about this ever since we arrived at the mall. We left Rosalie and Alice at a dress shop so Edward and I could get our black shirts. Apparently, the all black attire has been a Cullen tradition started by Emmett. Edward said Emmett has always worn black shoes, pants, and shirt to every school dance, and matched his accessories to his dates dress. If Edward is this freaked out over a tie, I can't imagine how stressed he will be when we try to find socks in the right color.

"Do you know if Emmett's button up still fits him? Or if it's in good shape? That boy goes through clothes faster than anyone I've ever known." Esme asks. Edward shakes his head.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"I'll just grab him another."

She grabs an extra-large and we head to the cash registers. The cost of one shirt is more than most of my outfits cost, but Esme and Edward don't seem phased by it. The cashier puts it in a fancy paper bag and Edward carries it out of the store. Edward tells Esme every worry and anxiety he has over this dance and I do my best to not scoff at him. Rosalie and I still have to go to regular therapy sessions, but it sounds like Edward is the one who needs a therapist.

At the dress shop, Rosalie smiles and does a slow spin in front of a big mirror that is right outside of the line of dressing rooms. Her big smile already lets us know that she's in love with the red dress she's wearing. It's a long dress and the two straps rest off of her shoulders. A slit from the bottom of the skirt goes all the way up to Rosalie's thigh.

"No." I say just loud enough for Esme to hear. She looks back at me, shocked, but just gives me a smile and turns her attention back to Rosalie.

"Esme, I love it!" Rosalie says. "Please, please, please!"

"It does look nice on you." Esme tells her.

I eye her up and down and shake my head no. That's the last thing I want to see my sister wearing. Between the high slit in the skirt and the low cut on the top, there isn't nearly enough fabric on that dress. But when Rosalie sees my face and realizes that I don't like the dress, she gives me a smirk before turning to Esme again.

"I love it, Esme! Can I please get it?" She asks and folds her hands, begging Esme. Rosalie puts on the biggest, most innocent looking eyes she can muster. "I never had a real dress like this for a dance."

"Are you sure that's the one you want?" Esme asks her. Rosalie nods with a big smile. "Okay, honey. We can get it."

Rosalie lights up and looks back at the mirror. She twirls in the mirror again.

"Jasper, take my picture and send it to me." She tells me. I sigh, but do as she asks. I snap a quick picture and send it to her.

"What do you think, Rosalie?" Alice says in a quiet voice. A dressing room door opens and she steps out and bits her lip. She has a short, light blue dress that goes down just past her knees. The skirt puffs out a little, and there's tiny little beads stitched up the top half. She shifts her weight from foot to foot awkwardly. I smile at her and she smiles back.

"That looks great!" Rosalie tells her.

"It does honey," Esme agrees.

"Do you like it, Jasper?" She asks me.

I smile and give her a thumbs up.

"Take whatever color you want." Carlisle tells us as he opens his closet door. It's a walk-in closet that is filled with suits and dresses and slacks and shoes. Everything is organized just so: All the jeans are together, the button up shirts, the dress, the skirts. On a four-foot section of wall there are five metal bars, all of them filled with ties draped over them in all kinds of colors. Edward doesn't hesitate to exam the small collection of pink ties. Some are sold pink, some have hearts and stripes. He pushes those aside and hold three shades of pink in the light. Carlisle pats my back. "Pick one out, Jasper."

I run my hand over all the ties. I don't really know anything about ties. I scan through all the colors, and my eyes fall on a light blue one. I pull it off the rack and rub the silky material between my fingers.

"Can I take these to Bella's tomorrow? I don't know which will match her dress." Edward asks with a sigh.

"Sure, kiddo." Carlisle says. Edward points to the tie in my hand.

"That's the blue of Alice's dress. Are you going with her?" He asks me. Carlisle raises one brow at me.

I just smile and shrug.

 _I want to see you sometime, Jasper. Let me know when you're free. I can pick you up and we can get dinner and catch up. Let me know, son._

I keep reading my Dad's message over and over. Part of me says to delete my Facebook and forget I ever found him. But a stronger part disagrees. He's been messaging me regularly. He added money onto my Itunes account. He asks about me and Rosie and has offered to get us anything we need. And it has been years since we were taken from him.

Maybe he's changed.

 _I'd like that. Can we meet next week? I have a school dance this weekend. But next weekend I'm free._

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Let's get a group photo," Esme tells us. "Get closer together."

Emmett grabs Alice and Rosalie and pull them both to his side, draping his big arm around Alice's shoulders and Rosalie's waist. The girls laugh at his abrasiveness, and I move closer to Alice. I appreciate him putting his arm on her shoulders, leaving her waist free for me. Bella is on my other side, and Edward is next to her. They awkwardly join us and Esme snaps enough pictures to fill an entire photo album.

Carlisle, Garth, and Charlie, Bella's father, all stand behind Esme. Carlisle is obviously keeping his distance from Garth, but he keeps smiling at us, so he must not be to upset anymore.

Yesterday was rough, though. It was Emmett's last parent-player football banquet last night. Carlisle and Esme were supposed to meet at the school after Carlisle got off of work. He had to work an extra hour at the end of his shift, and the night before, Carlisle got called in. He ended up working over eighteen hours in a row. He came home to change for the banquet but fell asleep and missed it.

But Garth was able to make it.

Needless to say, Emmett was livid. He called Carlisle over twenty times, but Carlisle didn't wake up until Esme woke him after the banquet. He called Emmett back in his bedroom, but I could hear Emmett screaming from where I was sitting in the living room. He was pissed. He told Carlisle that issues like this is exactly why he moved in with Garth.

I've never seen Carlisle cry before, and technical I still haven't seen him cry, but when he came out of the bedroom, his eyes were red and puffy, and I'm sure it wasn't because his lack of sleep.

Esme is finally satisfied with the amount of pictures and we're allowed to drop our arms from around each other. Emmett stays close to Rosalie. Garth said he didn't have the cash to buy Emmett a tie, so right before pictures he took one from Carlisle's closet. It's the same color of red as Rosalie's dress, and even though they never asked each other out, they sure are acting like a couple.

I guess I can't complain about that, because I basically did the same thing to Alice, but that's different.

"Can we go now?" Emmett asks Esme with an exaggerated huff, followed by a smile. "Haven't you held us hostage for enough pictures?"

"One more." Esme laughs and snaps a picture of Emmett, mid eye roll. "There. Go ahead, have fun."

We all head out of the house. Emmett puts his arm around Rosalie's waist and guides her to the door like that, so I imitate it with Alice. She looks up at me with a shy smile, and I can't help but smile back. While us boys were getting ready, Emmett laughed and asked me how I snagged a date to the dance without even saying a word to my date. My plan wasn't to go with Alice, but she's so beautiful in that dress. And she does all the talking for me anyways.

The dance is loud and crowded and hectic. It's pretty much everything that I don't want to be around. The high school gym is decorated with white streamers, balloons, and paper snowflakes, and is completely dark other than the colored lights being shined from where the DJ is playing. I stick close to Emmett and Rosalie, and wonder if the middle school dance is anything like this. With all these students pack in, we have no choice but to dance pressed up against each other.

"Do you want to get some punch?" Alice yells over the music. I nod, thankful to get out of the busy dancing scene. She takes my hand and we weave our way through the dance floor until we reach the gym doors.

Right outside in the hallway are tons of long tables set up by every different team and club in the school selling baked goods or pop. We find the table with punch and cupcakes. Alice orders two cups and two cupcakes, I pay with the money Carlisle gave me, and we look around for a quiet place to eat. Even in the hallway, the music is too loud.

"You don't like this, do you?" Alice asks me. I shrug. "It's very loud. And there's too many people. Do you want to leave?"

I'm not really sure how to answer. It would be pretty rude of me to ask her to leave a dance only an hour and a half after it started. It's supposed to go on until midnight, and it's only ten o'clock. I just shrug again.

"Usually the winter formal isn't this packed. A lot of people will just go to homecoming and prom and skip the winter formal." She says. "I don't mind leaving, if you want. Do you want to?"

She obviously isn't have fun, so I nod yes.

"Let's find Emmett and Rosalie and tell them we're leaving." She instructs. I follow her towards the doors of the gym, but I'm stopped by my Personal Lifting teach at the door.

"No food or drinks in the gym." He tells me, nodding at the cupcakes and punch. Alice must not of heard him, because she keeps going through the dance. I just take a step to the side and wait for her. "How much weight have you gained, Whitlock? Weightlifting has been doing you good."

I shrug. I was supposed to weight myself before that class?

He doesn't push for more conversation, which I'm thankful for. I keep my eyes glued on the door for Alice, but it's Emmett who comes out. He sees me and holds his arms out.

"What's up, brother? I heard Alice tell Rosalie you're leaving." He asks me. "You two want to leave?"

I nod.

"Too much for you?"

I shrug.

"It's cool, dude. Just don't go home." He smiles at my teacher, puts his arms around me, and walks with me over to the front doors of the school. He lowers his voice, digs in his pocket, and puts his keys in my hand. "Don't leave. You and Alice can chill in the Jeep. Turn the heat on. And if the heat gets turned on, look in the glovebox." He tells me with a laugh. I'm not really sure what's so funny.

"Jasper!" Alice calls for me. She hops over to us, the skirt of her dress bouncing with each step she takes. When she's close, she takes my hand in hers. "Are you ready?"

I nod, and push the front door open for her. Emmett smirks at us.

"Remember what I told you Jasper. You crazy kids have fun!" He laughs before heading back to the gym.

Alice and I wander out to the parking lot. It starts to snow, and she shivers and leans closer to me as we walk. I put my arm around her shoulder to try to warm her up. The sleeveless dress can't be very warm. I take her to the Jeep and unlock the front passenger door for her before getting in the driver's seat myself. Alice rubs her arms with her hands, so I turn the Jeep on and crank up the heat to the warmest setting.

We sit there for a little while and I wonder if she's going to call her parents to come get us or if she wants me to text Esme or Carlisle. The only noise is the motor running and the heat vents. I remember what Emmett said about checking the glove box when we get heated up, so I reach over and pop it open, only to slam it back shut when I see what's inside.

Condoms.

There's tons of condoms in the glovebox. A few small boxes, one big box, and tons just floating around without a box. Alice seen them too. She blushes and I can feel my cheeks burning red. I sink down in my seat, embarrassed. She's definitely going to call her parents now.

"Do you have your license?" She asks me softly. I shake my head no. "Well, since we can't drive home, do you want to just hang out in here? It's getting pretty warm."

I nod. It's probably best if she doesn't want to call her parents. They'd be pretty suspicious of me in a car full of condoms with their daughter.

"Did you put those in there?" She asks and points to the glovebox. I shake my head no. She chuckles. "I figured they were Emmett's. He has quiet the reputation in school."

I don't respond. I don't really know about his reputation.

"Have you ever, you know," Alice says slowly and awkwardly. "Been with a girl?"

I shake my head no.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?"

I shake my head no again.

"I've only been kissed. Nothing else." She says and keeps her eyes locked on me. "Do you like me, Jasper?"

I stare back at her, not really sure want to say. My stomach is doing flips, and my heart starts to race.

"It's okay if you don't." She sighs and looks back out the window.

I drop my gaze to the floor and battle with myself. I must like her. I wouldn't have picked out a matching tie and took pictures with her and danced with her. But I also remember how much I didn't like her when we first came to this school. She was the only student who would continue to talk to me even thought I wouldn't talk back. But looking back, I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not. She's the only student who didn't just ignore me.

"I do." I whisper with a shaky voice. My throat tightens and I feel like I'm going to throw up. I lift my head and look at her, waiting for some kind of reaction. She stares at me, before leaning in and kissing me.

My eyes widen. I don't really know how to respond. My nerves go on high alert. She puts her small, chilly hand on my cheek, and in some weird way, it's calming. I do my best to relax into it.

She pulls away, and for a moment, I'm star-struck. I can't help but stare at her. She giggles and wipes my lip with her thumb.

"I got lipstick on you."

I put my hand behind her neck and kiss her again. It's easier this time. When we pull away from it, she leans closer and kisses me a third time, and it's easier than the second. I get a strange sensation throughout my torso. I'm not use to my anxiety turning into comfort. It's a completely foreign feeling for me, but I don't fight it. She grabs my hands off of my lap and puts them on her sides.

"Don't you think this would be more comfortable in the backseat?" She asks me.

I fling my door open and jump into the backseat without a second thought.


	15. Chapter 15

"I want to go to Alice's today. Can I?" I ask Carlisle. He lets out a heavy sigh and closes his laptop.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about Alice." Carlisle tells me. He closes his eyes, folds his hands behind his head and lean back against the chair. "You two hung out in the car at the dance?"

I nod.

"And what happened in the car?"

I freeze. Why does he want to know?

"Jasper, has anyone talked to you about sex?"

I groan. God, not this.

"Sit down, buddy."

I groan again, but do as he says. I perch on the edge of the desk and keep my eyes on the ground.

"To keep yourself save and healthy, you'll need these." He opens his eyes, opens a drawer in his desk, and pulls out a brand new box of condoms. He sets them next to me. "For oral sex, for vaginal sex, for anal-"

"We just kissed!" I blurt out.

"Nothing else?"

"I don't want to talk about this." I murmur.

"You need to know this, Jasper. Kissing leads to more."

I can't believe this. This is the last thing I want to hear. Alice and I never even touched the condoms in Emmett's glovebox. And I'm positive Emmett is the one who told Carlisle about us waiting in the car. We just made out. Nothing required a condom.

This lecture is cutting into my time with my Dad. I planned this whole thing out. I'm telling Carlisle and Esme that Alice and I are meeting at the pizza shop, but my Dad will actually be waiting for me in the parking lot. Once Carlisle leaves, I'll get in my Dad's truck and we will hang out for an hour. When the hour is up, he will drop me off at Alice's house, where Carlisle will pick me back up around eight o'clock. It's perfect.

It would be perfect, actually, if Carlisle didn't feel the need to have the sex talk with me.

"Do you know how to put a condom on?"

"We're not having sex. Of any kind." I promise, but can't bring myself to look at him. Of course I know about sex, Sex Ed was a required class in middle school, but it's just weird talking to Carlisle about it.

"You're really not listening, are you?" Carlisle asks me with a sigh.

"Nope."

"If you're too immature to talk about sex, then you're too immature to be having sex." He tells me. "But do me a favor and just google how to put these on."

"Can I just get a ride to the pizza place?" I ask with a heavy sigh.

"Get googling. C'mon," He yawns and stand from his chair.

We get to the car, and Carlisle reminds me again to google the whole condom thing. I do it just to get him off my back.

We pull up to the pizza shop and my heart races. Carlisle pulls into the parking lot and reaches into his pocket for his wallet. I try to scan the cars parked around us without making it obvious that I'm looking for someone.

"Here," Carlisle passes me a ten and a twenty. "Keep the change. Be nice to her. Talk to her, if you can."

"Okay." I murmur and fling the door open.

"I'll pick you up at eight." Carlisle calls to me as I climb out of the car. I shut the door and head to the building, but once the Mercedes pulls away, I turn back towards the parking lot. I pull my phone out of my pocket and message my Dad.

 _I'm here. Where are you?_

He said earlier that he has an old Ford Ranger. I don't even see a truck in the parking lot. I keep checking my phone, but he doesn't message me back. I worry that he's not going to show. The snow is really coming down now, and I tuck my hands under my arms to keep them warm.

About ten minutes go by, and I'm about ready to text Carlisle and tell him I got my times mixed up and Alice won't be here for another hour. As soon as I pull my phone out, a rusty Ranger comes flying into the parking lot. It throws up snow as it pulls up to the sidewalk where I'm standing. The passenger window rolls down.

"Jasper."

Holy shit.

My Dad.

I yank the door open and jump in. My Dad stares at me, and I just stare back.

"Oh my God," He says. He slides over in the bucket seats and grabs me in a hug. "I've missed you. I've missed you so much."

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

"How long has it been, eight years?" My Dad asks. He lets out a sigh. "Whoa. Eight years. It's so nice to finally see you again."

I just give him an unstable smile. My stomach is still doing backflips.

"What have you been up to?"

I shrug.

"Come on, Jazz, you can talk to me." Dad tells me with a smile.

"I've been lifting weights." I tell him with a shaky voice. "At school. I have a weight lifting class."

"You like it?"

"Yeah. I like it."

"And Rosie? What is she up to?"

"She's happy. She's making friends."

"That's great. Wow," He chuckles. "Eight years of catching up to do. Tell me about your life. Tell me anything. We have eight whole years of catching up."

"Um," I murmur and feel like I'm seven years old again. He always wanted me to keep my mouth shut. "We just had a dance."

"Did you have a date?"

"Yeah. Her name's Alice."

"Did Rosalie have a date?"

"Yeah. Emmett. He's, uh," I pause to try to think of the best way to explain him. I don't want to call him our foster brother, because that would be weird. "He's the son of a friend of our foster parents."

"Is he a nice guy? You know, as a brother you have a certain duty to keep her safe. Do we have to bash some skulls in?" He asks me with a laugh.

"Uhm, no, we don't. He's nice."

"Tell me about your date."

"She's cute. She's short, about four ten. Her hair is black. She wore this really pretty blue dress."

I tell him about dancing, about the one or two slow dances we had together. And I try hard to keep going. Dad keeps looking at me and smiling as he drives down the road, heading out of town. His truck doesn't have any problems in the snow, and he seems to know the layout of the roads really well.

"She's really sweet. I really like her." I say.

"Don't get her pregnant." He tells me firmly. "If she gets pregnant then you're stuck with her. And you don't want to get stuck with one girl. That's what happened with me and your mom."

I'm not sure how to respond to that, so I just keep my mouth shut.

"Here, I got you something. And for Rosie too." He says and reaches under his seat. He pulls out a small paper bag and tosses it onto my lap. I peer inside of it and see two keychains with a big silver W hanging from them. "You know, to just keep reminding both of you who you are. You're Whitlock's. And you'll always be Whitlock's. Remember that."

* * *

"How was your date?" Esme asks me as I open the Mercedes door. I wrinkle my brow at her. I was expecting Carlisle. She reads my facial expressions like an open book. "Carlisle is at home. I made him stay after I found him nodding off at his desk. That man is going to work himself to death."

I nod in agreement.

"Did your date go well?"

I nod again. At least I hope it went well. When Dad dropped me back off at the pizza shop for me to meet up with Alice, I was a little distant. Well, even more distant than normal, which I never knew was possible.

"Good." She says with a smile. "I need to stop by the grocery store. Will you be okay coming in the store?"

I nod once more.

"Good." She responds happily.

She doesn't ask me anymore questions, which I'm thankful for. I lean my head against the seat and close my eyes and think back to life with my Dad.

Honestly, I don't remember much. I know Dad rarely put his hands on Rosalie. I was the one who got hit. And Mom was pretty useless. But the details are fuzzy. I remember stealing, and I remember yelling, and I remember hitting.

Esme pulls up into the grocery store parking lot. When we get in the store, Esme gives me another firm look.

"Good choices, Jasper." She reminds me.

I nod. Esme smiles, grabs a cart and walks in front of me. I follow behind her, scanning the shelfs and all the items on display. Unlike Carlisle, Esme isn't insistent on keeping her eye on me. I stick my hands in my pocket and rub my fingers over the keychains.

Esme's 'few' items that she had to grab turns into a whole cartload. She asks if I mind, but I tell her no. It just gives me more time to scan the aisles. With my Dad on my mind and the keychains in my pocket, I need to distract myself. I shift my eyes towards the ceiling but don't see any cameras.

We wonder past a little metal wing with magnets on it at the end of the aisle. They're all shaped like animals, and as we walk past, I reach out and grab the first one I see and slide it into my pocket.

Esme hearts the sound of the metal and looks back at me. As soon as her head starts to turn, I put my hand over the arm closest to the metal wing and wince.

"Ow," I murmur just loud enough for Esme to hear so she things the sound of metal was because I ran into it.

"Be careful, sweetheart."

 **Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Wake up, Jasper." Esme says in a quiet, soothing voice. My eyes pop open and I'm drenched in sweat. She doesn't seem to mind, though, and runs her hand repeatedly down my hair. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

As I look around my room, I can't help but pant. My chest feels like it's thumping out of my chest.

"Deep breaths, honey. Deep breaths. Relax," She tells me. I sit up. "This is the second time tonight you were screaming."

I grab my phone from its place on the end table and check the time. 1:38 AM.

"Is something bothering you?"

I take another deep breath and lay back down.

"Just relax and I'll be right back with some tea. And I'll turn your wax melter on too." She tells me.

Esme turns on the little wax melting nightlight before leaving my room. I take a deep breath and try to get myself under control.

"I can keep myself safe, I can keep myself safe." I sigh.

* * *

"Go lay down, love. I can take care of the kids." Carlisle tells Esme as he guides her to their bedroom with his arm around her shoulder.

"Rosalie has therapy and dinner still needs to be made." Esme tells him. She keeps her head down and rubs her forehead. "There's at least three loads of laundry to do."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"But you need to get some rest too."

"I'll be fine. Let me handle it. You just go relax."

"Make sure to sign Edward's permission slip for the field trip. And they all need lunches packed for tomorrow."

"It will all get done." Carlisle promises again.

Esme developed a migraine during the day. She didn't want to go lay down, but Carlisle insisted. He finally convinced her, though. Carlisle shuts the door to their bedroom.

"Hey," Rosalie says, leaning towards me on the couch. "Have you talked to Emmett today?"

I shake my head no.

"He hasn't text me at all. He usually text me." She sighs.

"Sorry, sis." I murmur.

She sighs and lays down with her head on my lap. She closes her eyes, but I can tell she's upset. She holds her cell phone in her hands tightly.

"Hey, Rosie? Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure." She says.

"Have you ever wanted to get a hold of our Dad?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

As soon as the words come out of my mouth, she sits up and raises her eyebrows at me. The sadness on her face has been replaced with concern.

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

I nod.

"C'mon." She stand from the couch and offers me her hand. "Let's talk upstairs."

I don't protest. I just take her hand and let her lead me up the stairs, down the hall, and into my bedroom. She sets down on my bed and pats the spot next to her. I sit down and brace myself. I'm sure she's ready to release a storm.

"Are you thinking of getting in contact with our Dad?" She questions me slowly and deliberately. I look down and shake my head no. "Don't lie to me, Jasper."

I shake my head no again.

"Don't ever, _ever_ think about him. Don't ever think about contacting him. He is a useless piece of shit. We're better without him. Do not talk to him." She says with a deep hatred in her voice. Her eyes light up, her brows furrow, and the attitude she's projecting is strong enough to knock a grown man down. "Did he try to message you on Facebook? He's tried to message me before. Do not respond. Don't do it. He is no good."

"But you've never wondered what he's doing?" I ask timidly.

"I don't need to know what he's doing. I know what he did. And that's enough to keep me from ever wanting to see him again."

"Was he really that bad?"

"Jasper, go down the hall and tell Edward that Esme has a migraine and Carlisle is taking care of dinner." She tells me and points to my bedroom door. My eye widen and I shake my head no. "Do you remember who did that to you? Don't you remember who use to beat the shit out of you every time you said a single word? Don't you remember?"

I shrug.

"My therapist told me about this. It's call repression." Rose tells me. Her voice is strong and unwavering. "Dad was such a jackass to you that your mind refuses to let remember it. But let me remind you."

I gulp. Rosalie was born with fire in her soul and can start a wildfire with just a spark. Apparently, I poured gasoline on that spark.

"Dad beat the shit out of you whenever he was mad. He once came home pissed as fuck and smacked you right off of the couch and into the end table. Your forehead busted open. And on our fifth birthday he busted a beer bottle across your back. Look," She pulls out her phone and turns on the front facing camera before holding it up to me. "Look at your hairline. See that white scar? That was caused by Dad walking past you and slamming your head into the corner of the wall."

"I forgot about that." I admit quietly. She takes her phone back and sets it face down on the bed.

"Remember when you talked to the cashier at the store? Dad beat the crap out of you at home."

"But he never did anything to you."

"Oh really?" She says in a sarcastic tone. "He use to make me sit there and watch as he hit you. He made me watch, Jasper."

"But he never hit you."

"He did, just not like he hit you. Remember when we were taken away for good?"

I shake my head no.

"You don't remember?"

"Not a whole lot. I just remember some."

"CPS already told him that if there was another call that he could lose us for good. So I made sure to keep getting in his way and pushing his buttons so he would hit me too. Then we went to the principal at our school and showed him our bruises." She explains slowly, like I'm stupid. "Because we were afraid they would only take you and we wouldn't see each other again."

I nod. Her story jogs my memory, and I start to remember that day. The principal asked me about my Dad, and I didn't say anything. I just shoved my long-sleeves and let the big, ugly bruises do the talking.

"Jasper," She takes my hands in hers. "Do not talk to him. Just keep deleting his messaged. Block him so he can't see your profile. People like him don't change. Do not talk to him. Promise me you won't talk to him."

"Okay," I agree with a sigh. She holds up her pinky finger. I smile and wrap my pinky around hers.

"Good. Now push him out of your head and let's go back downstairs. Carlisle is going to need a lot of help to get through the evening without Esme." She chuckles.

We leave my bedroom and head down the stairs. As soon as we hit the living room, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I peak at the screen to see another message from my Dad.

 _It was so nice to see you. Let me know when I can see you again._

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

"So, what do you two want for your birthday?" Esme asks Rosalie and I. It's just the three of us at the dinner table tonight. Edward had to stay after school to try out for a piano solo for the school's band, Emmett is at Garth's and Carlisle is at work. The house is very quiet.

"I don't know." Rosalie shrugs. "I haven't really thought about it."

"Sixteen is a big one. Maybe you and you friends would like to go to the salon and get mani-pedis?"

"That would be fun."

"Or we can go to the mall," Esme suggests. "To have a little shopping spree. Whatever you'd like, honey. You too, Jasper. Let us know what you want."

I nod. I can't really think of anything I want. Mani-pedis and a shopping spree sounds expensive. Most foster homes wouldn't even think to let us do something that costly for our birthdays.

"How's school going?" Esme questions Rosalie.

"It's going well. But, um," Rosalie sighs. "I have to do a family tree for my history class."

"Oh?"

"I don't want to do my family." She murmurs. "My Mom and my Dad weren't anything that I want to tell my whole class about."

"Then do this family." Esme says simply. "I'm sure your teacher won't have a problem with it. Carlisle has tons of old photo albums in his study."

Esme trails off and tells Rosalie about Carlisle's father and his strict up-bringing. I slide my phone out of my pocket and pull up the messages from my Dad.

 _Hey Jazz. I'm off tomorrow. Are you free?_

Tomorrow is a school day, and usually Carlisle and Esme prefer us to stay home, but I do have a therapy appointment.

 _Yeah, for an hour. Can you pick me up at the brick building across from the court house at five o'clock? I need to be back there by 6._

It doesn't take long for him to respond.

 _Sure thing, son._

* * *

"I'll be back by six to pick you up, hon." Esme tells me with a smile as we pull up to the therapists building. I open the door and she puts her hand on my arm. "Love you, Jazz."

I glance down at her hand for a moment. It takes me a few seconds to register her words. Once they seem to settle in my brain, I look up and smile at her. She smiles back before I open the passenger door and jump out of the car.

She doesn't pull away. She stays right where she is at the curb, so I go into the big building and step to the side of the door so she can't see me through the window. I'm left facing a wall full of pamphlets. Depression tests, free health clinics, benefits of a vegan diet, meditation. There's tons of them. One catches my eye, though. Most have pictures of people looking happily up to the sky or looking down at the ground with a sad look on their face. This one isn't like that. It's not cheesy like the others. It has a teen about my age kneeling down petty a dog, with the words "EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS AND YOU" written in thin letters across the top. I peak through window to see Esme pull away. I open the pamphlet and read the inside. It has all kinds of different tips and info about these animals. On the right side of the pamphlet is a list of issues support animals help with. At the bottom of the list is my very own diagnosis: selective mutism.

I peek out of the window again and Esme is out of eyeshot, so I shove the pamphlet in my pocket and go back outside to wait for my Dad. Only a minute or two pass by before his truck comes rumbling up. He barely has time to stop the truck before I fling open the passenger door and jump in. He smiles at me.

"Hey there, Jazzy."

"Hi, Dad."

* * *

"So that's when he at me with the beer mug. Cracked my head right open. But I pinned that bastard to the wall so fast that he couldn't even celebrate the hit he got in." Dad chuckles. "I had blood dripping all down my face. You're old man can't be brought down that easily."

I smile and nod. My fingers travel up to my hairline where my scar is. Dad glances at me from the corner of his eye and his smile quickly fads.

"Uh, do you remember how you um," He pauses, glances at the road, then glances back over to me. He scrunches his brows together, wrinkling his forehead. "You climbed up on the edge of the bathtub and slipped. Remember? You went to jump onto the bathmat but slipped and knocked your head on the side of the bathroom counter."

I shrug.

"Knock that off, Jasper. I told you before to talk to me." He says firmly. "Do you remember falling off the bathtub?"

"Yeah." I murmur. The stress on his face melts off.

"It's crazy how banged up little kids get. And nowadays they don't expect kids to be kids. That's how they got away with taking you and Rosie, you know. You two played rough and got banged up like kids do and they blamed me."

I don't really know what to say. He sure does have a different perspective on it than Rosalie.

"Where's Mom?" I ask quickly to change the subject. Dad scoffs.

"Hell if I know. We divorced after you kids left and she just fell off the face of the Earth. Ran off and never looked back."

"Oh."

"You see, Jasper. That's the trouble with women. Women are sneaky." He tells me. "You have to watch your back with them. One moment they love you, the next moment they leave with every cent you have."

I let out a sigh. He obviously doesn't know about women like Esme. Mom couldn't never compare to Esme.

"Looks like I should get you back." Dad tells me and points to the clock on the dash. "Why do they make you go o therapy anyways? They act like you're some sort of freak or something."

I want to tell him that it's because I was never allowed to talk, and now I'm terrified to talk to anyone, but I keep my mouth shut. He probably wouldn't understand that I get treated like a "freak or something" because of him.

* * *

I hear the slam of the front door. It's about one in the morning, but I'm wide awake. I screamed myself awake again and didn't bother to ever try to fall back asleep. Instead, I've been on my phone looking up things about these emotional support animals. Now that Carlisle is home, though, I grab the pamphlet, jump out of bed and hurry downstairs. I made it down just in time to see Carlisle slip into his bedroom and close the door behind him. The light flips on and shines under the crack of the door. I hear Esme's sleepy voice as she wakes up.

"You're finally home," She says.

"Finally." Carlisle lets out a big heavy sigh. I knock on the door, pausing their tired conversation. "Who is it?"

I don't answer.

"It's Jasper." Carlisle murmurs. He opens the door and I walk in. "What are you doing awake buddy? You should be sleeping."

I go over to the bed and sit on the edge of it near Esme. She sits up and gives me a little smile as she rubs her eyes.

"Having a hard time sleeping?" She asks.

I unfold the pamphlet and think about what I'm going to do. My throat tightens up, but I look at Carlisle and pretend like Esme isn't right there.

"I know what I want for my birthday."


	19. Chapter 19

Carlisle sips his coffee in the kitchen. Edward and I chase pieces of cereal around a bowl of milk at the table with our spoons. The house has been quiet lately with Emmett at Garth's place and Carlisle always working and Edward caught up with Bella, but today is different. Today is quiet and tension-filled.

Today is the day of Emmett's guardianship review.

Carlisle has this expensive looking suit on. It's dark gray, almost black, like he's going to a funeral. His crisp white shirt and red tie doesn't match his tired face. He hasn't smiled all day. Not that there's anything to smile about for today. He and Esme are most likely going to lose their guardianship.

"Are you sure you boys want to come with us? You can't make a single noise in court." Carlisle says.

"I dunno." Edward sighs.

"Well, you've got time to decide. Court isn't until two."

That's another thing that's off about today. Carlisle is ready to go but still has five hours to wait.

"I need to talk to you two." He sighs. "I just want to let you know that whatever happens today, Emmett is still a part of this family. He will always be your brother."

We both nod.

"This will be difficult on all of us, but we are still a family. All of us. Me, Esme, you two boys, Emmett, Rosalie. At the end of the day, no matter what happens, we will not be losing a family member."

"We know, Dad." Edward answers for both of us.

Carlisle lets out another big sigh before leaning against counter. He glances at the counter and snatches up a stack of mail. He flips through the letters, opens a few and tosses them aside. One is from the high school, and he murmurs about taking it to court. He tears up a few pieces of junk mail until they're the size of confetti. The last envelope catches his attention and rips it open. He scoffs after reading it, and tosses it on the counter.

"They're asking me to speak at a conference."

"Who?" Edward asks. He pulls the letter towards him. "Your old college?"

"Yup."

"Does that mean we're going to Chicago?" Edward smiles.

"Maybe." Carlisle groans and pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "We'll see."

I stretch my neck to read a little of the letter. It has a fancy seal at the top and the way they talk, it sounds like they really want him at this conference.

"Dad, we should totally go! It was so fun last time!" Edward begs. "Can we go to the Hard Rock Café again? And that fancy restaurant we went to last time?"

"I don't even know if we're going, Ed-"

Carlisle is sharply cut off by an engine roaring towards the house. Carlisle scrunches his brow at the noise. As it gets closer, Carlisle drops all the mail on the counter and heads to the front door. Edward and I exchange nervous glances before jumping out of our chairs and racing to join Carlisle at the window.

Garth's old Ford Escort comes to a screeching halt just inches away from hitting the closed garage door. The passenger door flings open and Emmett climbs out with a duffel bag and his backpack in his hands. He kicked the door shut so hard that we could hear it slam from in the house.

"Thanks a fucking lot!" Emmett screams. He stomps behind the car and heads towards the house. Garth flies out of the driver's seat. His catches up with Emmett, grabs him by the shoulder and spins him around. Garth stands right in Emmett's face. He's yelling something at Emmett, but we can't hear him. Carlisle lets out a heavy sigh and reaches for the front door.

Garth puts his hands on Emmett's chest and gives him a hard push backwards. As soon as his hands touch Emmett, Carlisle flies out the door.

Emmett barely rocks backwards, and he shoves Garth back without a second thought. Carlisle jumps between them. Edward and I watch with wide eyes.

Emmett's push sends Garth back a few steps. As soon as Garth regains his balance, he cocks his arm back and throws a wild punch that lands on the left side of Carlisle's face.

"Dad!" Edward yells and runs out the door. I follow right behind him.

Carlisle stumbles back, holding his face in his hand. Emmett launches at Garth like a bullet out of a gun. By the time Edward and I leap off the porch, Emmett tackles Garth to the ground.

"Keep your hands off my Dad!" He shouts at Garth. Emmett has him pinned to the ground by sitting on his chest. He has one hand on Garth's throat and pulls back his free arm, letting his fist levitate in the air over Garth's face.

"God damn it!" Carlisle cusses.

"You okay, Dad?" Edward asks.

"You two, back in the house!" Carlisle demands.

"You piece of fucking shit!" Emmett bellows at Garth just as his strikes him in the same spot Carlisle was hit. Only now that Emmett is throwing the punches instead of Garth, it's not just one. Emmett lands another, and another, and another.

"C'mon Emmett!" Carlisle groans. He runs over to Emmett and tries to pull Emmett off of Garth. I run over to help him. With Carlisle and I on each side, Emmett can't throw anymore punches without elbowing one of us. He lets us pulls him to his feet. Garth pushes himself up and struggle to pull himself off the ground.

Garth stands and scowls at Emmett, taking a few steps towards him. Carlisle drops his grip on Emmett's arm and instead grabs a handful of Garth's shirt.

"Don't put your hands on my boy." Carlisle says with the angriest snarls I've ever heard from him.

"Keep your boy." Garth hisses and pushes Carlisle's hands off of his shirt.

"You're a fucking asshole!" Emmett shouts at him. "All because of a fucking tie!"

"Shut the fuck up, Emmett," Garth groans and waves him off as he turns his back to us all and stomps back to his car.

"Fuck you!" Emmett huffs, throwing up his middle finger towards Garth.

"Let him leave," Carlisle leaves. He walks towards us, but keep his head turned to watch Garth leave. "We'll settle this in court."

Garth puts the car in reverse and backs off of the driveway and into the snow covered lawn. When he puts it in drive and speeds off, he kicks up the snow. Once Carlisle reaches Emmett, we all stand there like statues. The only sounds anyone makes is our heavy breathing.

Emmett's face is beat red. His chest races up and down and he pants like a dog.

"What happened, Emmett?" Carlisle finally says. He puts his arm around Emmett's shoulders and walks him towards the door. As soon as I let go of Emmett's arm, his hands start to shake. He clenches and unclenches his fists.

"I just needed a tie!" Emmett huffs. His words tremble out of him. "He wouldn't take me to get a damn tie! That's all I needed!"

"Come on. Let's go inside." Carlisle tells him quietly.

"He wouldn't even drive me there." Emmett grumbles.

"Don't worry, Emmett. I have ties. You don't need to go get one." Carlisle promises.

We go back inside and we're greeted by Rosalie running down the stairs. Her eyes are wide and fearful. She stops at the bottom step.

"I heard yelling," She said nervously.

"It's okay," Carlisle promises her. "Garth left."

"What happened? Carlisle, your eye!"

"Rosie," Carlisle's tone is so soft you wouldn't believe he just left a fight. "It's okay. I promise."

I grab Rosalie's hand as we walk by and she follows me to the couch. Edward, Rosalie and I watch as Emmett continues to get himself even more worked up.

"I just wanted a tie. You always wore a tie to court. I just wanted a tie so I looked alright for court."

"Come with me. We'll get you a tie." Carlisle says. He takes Emmett towards his bedroom. "Start from the beginning. What happened?"

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**


	20. Chapter 20

"Tell me how this happened, kiddo." Carlisle says. I keep my ear turned towards the closed bedroom door. Edward and Rosalie watch me from the couch. They said I'm the quietest, so I was nominated to sit on the ground outside of Carlisle and Esme's room to listen in on Emmett and Carlisle's conversation.

"All I wanted was a tie!" Emmett says angrily again. "I wanted us to look nice for court."

"Okay. So you asked for a tie. Then what?"

"I asked if he had any ties. He said no."

"Okay. Then what?"

"He's just such a jackass!"

"Then what, Emmett?" Carlisle asks.

"He said no. I asked him if we could go to the store to get one, and he started going off about how I'm always asking him to drive me places and buy me thing." Emmett's voice shakes with every word. "I don't ask him for a lot. I've asked him to drive me to school and money for lunch. That's it! And I asked him to improve his grocery shopping list. He couldn't even get me a lousy protein bar!"

"So he complained about you asking for the tie. What happened after that?"

"I told him we could just go to the Salvation Army and get a ties for like, two bucks each. He wouldn't do it though. I told him I could just come over here and borrow one of yours and he completely lost it. 'If you need so much from him why don't you just go and live with him then!' He wouldn't listen to reason. He just completely went off!" Emmett's voice breaks. I can hear him take a deep breath, and there's some kind of movement in the room.

"Just let it out." Carlisle says so softly that I almost can't hear it.

"He wouldn't even drive me to school," Emmett struggles to make his words come out. "He won't do anything! I've missed seven days of school since I've lived with him because he can't be bothered to wake up and take me there and he won't let me borrow the car!"

Emmett breathes heavily, and nothing is said right away. I can hear the shower turn off, and it only takes a moment for Esme's voice to come into the scene.

"Oh, Emmett. I didn't know you were coming over." She says. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Garth is a jackass." He says slowly. His voice shakes even worse, like an earthquake.

"Baby, don't cry!" Esme sighs.

"Why doesn't he want me?"

Emmett breaks down even more. I can hear him gasping and choking up.

"There, there," Carlisle murmurs. "It's okay. You're home now."

I look over at Rosalie and Edward. They're watching with big, curious eyes. I think I'll leave out the part of Emmett crying.

"Listen, son, don't worry about him. You don't need him." Carlisle says firmly. "You've made it this far without him. And you have a family here who loves you."

"I can come back home?" Emmett asks.

"Of course you can," Esme says. "Of course, Emmett. You're always welcome back home."

I stand up and walk away from the door. I've heard enough. I settle down on the couch between Edward and Rosalie.

"What's going on?" Rosalie asks.

"Is Emmett going to come back home?" Edward adds on.

I smile and nod yes.

* * *

"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen received this letter in the mail from Emmett Cullen's high school stating that Emmett Cullen has missed seven days of school since he's been staying with Mr. McCarty."

Carlisle's lawyer hands the letter to a bailiff, who takes it up to the judge.

Edward, Rosalie, and I all sit like statues in the courtroom, just how Carlisle told us to. Carlisle, Esme, their lawyer and Emmett sit on one side of the courtroom. The other side is empty. Garth never showed up.

Carlisle's eye is already black and it's almost swollen shut. Esme made him hold a bag of frozen corn to his face, but he still looks rough. For this case, though, that works in our favor. The judge was already upset that Garth never showed up and hearing about the fight he had with Emmett and Carlisle didn't make it any better for him.

The judge reads the paper and tells Emmett something about school, but I can't concentrate. Carlisle and Esme sit up straight with their shoulders square and their heads held up proudly. Emmett sits just like them. There's so many traits shared by the three of them that you would think Esme and Carlisle were Emmett's biological parents. Everyone around here refers to Emmett as a Cullen even though his last name is still McCarty. Cullen is on the back of all of his jerseys, sweatshirts, and even his varsity jacket. The teachers at school call him Emmett Cullen instead of Emmett McCarty. Everyone knows Carlisle has his two boys, Emmett and Edward. Even Edward and Emmett's names go well together. Emmett's been there since Edward was born, so they're as close to brothers as they can be. The four of them were made to be a family, and I can't help but wonder if Rosalie and I were made to be part of this family too.

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Happy birthday dear Jasper and Rose, happy birthday to you!"

Rosalie smiles from ear to ear as everyone sings to us. The two 16 shaped candles on our cakes provide the only light in the room. Alice smiles and squeezes my hand. Rosalie blows out her candles, and then I blow out mine. They clap and laugh and Esme flips the lights on.

Esme made our cakes. They're both two layer, round cakes. Rosalie's is covered in big, pink roses. Mine is solid green on the top with black, vertical stripes on the side. We never had a homemade cake before.

"So what'd you wish for?" Emmett asks. Esme pushes his shoulder.

"You can't ask about what they wished for!" Esme says.

Rosalie smiles, but doesn't say anything. Ever since we've entered foster care, we swore that we would always wish for the same thing: A good home that would keep the both of us together. And we finally found it, which is why I added on another part of it. I also wished for a dog.

To be honest, I never really thought Rosie and I would find a family that wanted to keep us both. Who would want a sticky fingered mute? Since Rosalie and I have always been a packaged deal, I didn't think we would ever find somewhere that would actually care about us.

Esme smiles as she plucks the candles from our cakes and starts cutting. She worked all day on them, just for us. Alice keeps her hand on mine. Her tiny body stays right by my side. I haven't said a word to her in five days, but she's still here. Somehow my silence doesn't bother her. Emmett doesn't seem to mind it either, and Edward is the same. Carlisle's eyes are bloodshot, and the bags underneath them are dark and puffy. It's been well over four days since he's gotten a full night's sleep. He looks like death warmed over, but he's kept himself awake just for our little birthday celebration. And Rosalie's never been so happy. I grab her hand under the table. She leans a little closer to me.

"I think we got our wish." She whispers. I squeeze her hand to let her know I agree.

Everyone chatters back and forth as Esme distributes cake to everyone. Emmett dives into his like a wild animal, making Esme scold him and Edward laugh. Carlisle really starts struggling to keep his eyes open, but once his cell phone rings, they snap open.

"Oh, no," He groans as he pulls the phone out of his pocket. He reads the name on the screen and rolls his head back before answering. "Dr. Cullen speaking."

Everyone falls silent. We know who's on the other end of that phone call.

"It's the twins first birthday with us. There has to be someone else you can call. What about Dr. Brady?" He sighs. "Seriously? Fine. I'm on my way."

He hands up the phone, stands and puts one hand on Rosalie's back and his other on mine. Esme gives him a death stare.

"I'm sorry, guys." He leans down and kisses Rosalie on the top of her head, then ruffles my hair. "Happy birthday. I'm sorry I have to leave."

"How long will you be gone?" Rose asks.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but I'll be back as soon as I can." He promises. He runs his fingers through his hair and walks away, pausing only for a moment to look over his shoulder at me. "As soon as I get a day off, Jasper, we'll go to the pet store and get everything you need for the dog."

Esme's jaw drops, and so does Edward and Emmett's. I can't help but gasp and smile. He never confirmed whether or not I was actually getting the dog.

"Carlisle!" Esme sighs. "We were going to tell him together."

"Oh, right," Carlisle huffs and shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

* * *

 _Happy birthday, Jasper. Tell Rosie I said happy birthday. I can't believe you're sixteen. I got you two some presents. I'll give them to you the next time I see you._

I smile as I look down at my phone. Maybe my Dad isn't perfect, but he's trying. And it's nice having another person on my side.

"Emmett," I hear Esme's panicked voice in the hallway. I glace at the time. One forty-two AM. Why is she up? "Emmett, honey, are you awake?"

I sit up in bed and listen for more. She knocks rapidly on what I assume is Emmett's bedroom door. I fling my covers off of my legs and creep to my door, turning my ear towards it so I can hear better.

"What's up, Mom?" Emmett's voice answers finally. It turns from a relaxed tone to a worried one. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's your Dad. He's been in a car wreck. I just got the call. I have to go to the hospital, and I need you to stay home with your siblings."

"Wait, what? A car wreck? Is he okay?" Emmett asks.

"It's serious, but he'll be okay. Don't worry." Esme promises. "I'll let you know the moment that I know anything. I have to go right now. I'll keep you posted. Take care of the others. I'm sure I'll be there until morning, at least. Thank you, Emmett."

"Of course. Love you, Mom. Tell Dad I love him too."

"I will, sweetheart."

Esme's feet run down the hall. My heart sinks. A car wreck? How? Where? Is he alright? I have so many questions. My throat tightens, my heart races and my stomach twists. I go back to my bed and sit on the edge of it, but I can't calm down. After a few seconds, I grab my pillow and blanket and leave my room for Rosalie's room. I don't bother knocking. I just let myself in and go straight for her bed. I shake her shoulder until she wakes up.

"Jasper?" She murmurs as she opens her eyes.

I try to tell her that I want to stay in her room with her tonight, but I can't get the words out. I just hold up my pillow and blanket.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asks. I shake my head no. "Relax, Jazz. You can stay in here. You know that."

I put my pillow at the foot of her bed and climb over her to lay down between her and the wall. I drag my blanket with me and settle in. Rosalie seems to fall asleep the moment her head hits the pillow. I can't, though. I just keep staring at the ceiling with my cellphone clenched in my hand.

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	22. Chapter 22

The car ride to the hospital is completely silent. No one really knows what to say. Emmett told me when I left Rosalie's room this morning, then Edward when he woke up, and finally Rosalie. We had to wake her up because Esme text Emmett and said we could go to the hospital to see him. Edward was ready to jump in the car and take off without her. Out of the four of us, he's taking it the hardest. He keeps biting at his fingernails.

Apparently, Carlisle got off of work and headed home around one o'clock in the morning. While he was driving home, he fell asleep at the wheel and went off the road. The car hit a big boulder, rolled, and they found him trapped inside. Esme told us that Carlisle will be fine, and is lucky to not have any more serious injuries, but it doesn't settle my stomach. She said the Mercedes is completely totaled.

Emmett pulls up toward the hospital and Edward hardly waits for the Jeep to park before jumping out.

"Easy does it, brother." Emmett says. Edward huffs and crosses his arms as he waits for the rest of us to pile out. I take my time getting out. I really, really don't want to go in there.

"Come on, Jasper." Rose says with a soft voice. Edward leads the way, and Emmett hangs back. I stare at the big building and gulp. Rosalie grabs my hand and Emmett wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Don't worry. This is the best hospital in the state. Dad's in good hands." Emmett promises.

We head in, following in Edward's tracks. The sterile smell hits me in like a ton of bricks. I can't stand it. The chemical smell burns my nose. The fluorescent lights are harsh and the white walls and ceilings don't help. It's cold and everyone around us is rushing past. I drop my gaze to the floor and follow Emmett and Rosalie like a lost puppy, staying right on their tails. We hop on an elevator and once we're on the right floor, Emmett leads us up towards a nurses station and doesn't even have to say a word.

"Your father is in 485." A middle-aged lady tells us. Emmett smiles and nods at her.

Emmett and Rosalie stop dead in their tracks once they enter the doorway of the room. My view is blocked by Emmett's big frame, which I'm thankful for.

"Holy shit." Emmett says under his breath. "He looks terrible."

"It looks worse than it is, sweetie." Esme swears. "Where's Jasper?"

"He's here." Emmett tells her. He steps out of the doorway.

I drop my eyes again, instantly. I keep my chin down towards my chest. I step to the side and lean against the wall.

"You okay, Jasper?" Rose asks me. I nod.

"So, what's all going on? He looks awfully rough." Emmett asks Esme.

"Well, he fractured his kneecap and his nose, along with cracking a few ribs. The marks on his face are from the airbag going off. They stitched a cut on his chin. He also has a concussion. He's very sore, but he will be okay."

"He shouldn't be sleeping if he has a concussion!" Edward protests. "He could fall into a coma!"

"Don't worry, honey. He woke up and was completely coherent and the other doctors said he was fine to fall asleep." Esme says.

"This is crazy." Rosalie sighs. "He didn't even want to go in. Why is it always Carlisle that they call in?"

"Don't you worry about that, Rose. I'll handle that." Esme promises.

"What pain medication do they have him on? Does it conflict with any of his other medications?" Edward questions. "And what are they going to do for the scarring?"

"Don't worry about that. You know he's in good hands here."

Scarring. It must be really bad.

I can't help it. I know I shouldn't, but I lift my head and look anyways.

He face is bruised. His eyes are swollen and black. There's a bandage across his nose His skin is red and trashy and torn up. Stitches stick out on his chin. He doesn't look like the same man who left my birthday celebration. I can feel my stomach flip and I know I need to look away, but I can't.

"Jasper?" Rosalie says.

"It looks bad, but he's alright, Jasper." Esme reassures again. I grab my stomach and get a rotten taste in my mouth.

"Get him the trash can!" Rose calls.

It's a little too late though. The cold pizza, apple, and can of pop that I had for breakfast comes back up. Edward, Emmett and Rosalie jump back to keep from getting hit. Esme grabs the small plastic trash can next to Carlisle bed and shoves it in front of me. It doesn't catch it all, but it does help.

"Everyone out," Esme says calmly. "Edward, go to the nurses station and tell them we need a janitor. Emmett, Rose, go find a vending machine and get him some water."

"You're okay, Jazz." Rosalie tells me with a sigh on her way out. They file out, leaving me, Esme, and Carlisle alone in the room.

"Hold this, honey." Esme says. I take the garbage can from her, still retching and gagging into it. She takes the chair next to Carlisle's bed and spins it around to face the wall. She comes back over and puts her hand on my shoulder. "Watch your step, Jasper, and come sit down."

She guides me over to the chair, keeping between me and Carlisle so I don't have to look at him again. She kneels down next to the chair and rubs my back.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." She promises me.

A janitor comes in and cleans up my vomit. As he's finishes up, Rosalie comes in with a bottle of water. Emmett and Edward stand outside of the room.

"You know, Dad once told me he would like one of us to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor," Emmett says. "But I think Jasper just crossed his name off of that list."

"I'd say." Edward murmurs back. "How is this going to work? He won't talk to Dad, and now he can't even look at him without blowing chunks."

"I don't know, but Mom and Dad haven't met a battle they can't win yet."

Rosalie and Esme stay with me for a moment longer. The janitor finishes up and sprays a strong smelling disinfectant in the air before taking the garbage can from me. He replaces the bag before handing it back.

"Are you okay, honey?" Esme asks. I take another sip of water and nod. "Okay. Great. Emmett, come in here."

"What's up, Mom?" Emmett asks, clapping his hands and rubbing his palms together.

"Take Jasper down to the gift shop and get him a tooth brush. Let his stomach settle. If he doesn't think he can come back to the room, go ahead and take him home."

"Sure thing." Emmett nods. He puts his hand on my shoulder. "C'mon, brother. Let's go."

I stand without an issue, but Esme still holds onto my arm like I'm about to fall. I immediately duck my head and look at the bare white tiles. Emmett stands between me and Carlisle and we file out of the room without any hesitation.

"Are you good?" Emmett asks. I nod. "Good."

I follow him back to the elevator and he presses the button for the main floor. A small old man is in there with us, and he gives Emmett a big smile.

"You're Dr. Cullen's boy, aren't you?" He asks in a shaky, but happy voice.

"Yeah, I am." Emmett says back with a smile. "You know my old man?"

"I do. He saved my wife a year ago. She took a bad fall last winter. I don't know if she would still be with me today if it weren't for your father."

"He's one heck of a doctor, that's for sure."

"One heck of a man, too. He stayed late just to keep his eye on her and make sure she was okay. He even stayed in her room with her until I could get here."

Emmett's smile softens. The door opens and the three of us step out. Emmett walks right next to the old man.

"You know, it's was easy to hate his job when I was younger. He missed a lot because of this hospital. But hearing how much he's helped people makes it all worth it." Emmett says. He sticks his hand out and the old man happily shakes it. "Send your wife well wishes from the Cullen's."

The old man smiles and says he'll tell her. Emmett and I go down a different hall than the old man.

"Have you ever wondered how many people are alive because of him?" Emmett asks.

I don't respond, but mull over the numbers. Even if he has only one life threatening injury to treat every day, the number of lives he has saved is probably an outrageous number.

The gift shop is a long, narrow room that looks like it was added as an afterthought once the hospital was built. It cuts the wide hallway in half, but isn't very long. It only takes about twenty steps to walk from one end to the other. It has windows on the long walls that look out into the hallway and into the parking lot, and has a glass door on either end of it. It's full of brightly colored knickknacks and stuffed animals and flowers. Emmett strolls in, takes a look around, and the pokes me in the arm with his elbow.

"While you're looking for a toothbrush, see if there's anything we can get for Dad."

I nod. He wonders off to the other end. I look around at the goofy items, like painted turtle bobble heads and polished rocks with words like 'unbreakable' and 'have faith' etched in them. There's really not much that I think Carlisle would enjoy.

I glance over my shoulder at the cashier. He looks a little older than I am, and is too engrossed in his cell phone to even notice that Emmett and I walked in. I wonder to the corner of the store. There aren't windows in the corner, but plenty of little weird objects. There's a basket full of shaped erasers. I push a few around with my finger before plucking out three different ones. One's a dog paw print, the other is a heart, and the last one is a purple smiley face. I look for Emmett, and when I see that he's not looking, I shove them in my pocket.

I wonder down farther, sticking to the shelves on the wall. There's another shelf that goes down the middle of the store that is tall enough to hide the majority of my body. I kneel down to look on the very bottom shelf. It's full of plastic snow globes of all different sizes and scenes. I pick the smallest one and give it a good shake. The fake snow falls onto a tiny replica of the Seattle skyline. It's too big to fit in my pants pocket, but not for the inside pocket of my coat. I slowly unzip it, trying to make as little noise as possible, before sliding it into the pocket. I stand up and take another look around. Emmett still isn't look at me and the cashier hasn't changed his position.

I smirk and move on a little farther down. There's a plastic water gun that's shorter than my pointer finger. After peeking out the window to make sure no one from the hallway is watching, that gets slid into my pocket too. I turn to the shelves down the middle of the store. There's tons of notebooks and diaries. I try to find one small enough to fit in my coat pocket, but they're all too big. Instead, I grab a fistful of colorful pens with cheesy inspirational quotes written on the side. I don't bother to read them, I just keep my eyes glued to the cashier as I slide them into my coat pocket. I have to keep from chuckling to myself. He doesn't even know I'm taking things from right under his nose.

"Hey Jasper!" Emmett calls.

My heart races. Did he see me?

"I found some toothbrushes. What kind of bristles do you like? Soft, medium, or firm?"

I let out a sigh of relief before wondering over to him. There's an entire section of toiletry and hygiene products. The toothbrushes are just as ridiculous as everything else in this hospital. They have thick handles that have stupid sayings on them. I grab a lime green one that says 'You are amazing'. Emmett takes it from me, then grabs a travel sized bottle of mouth wash and a little tube of toothpaste.

"I'll get you some mints too. Anything to stop that nasty puke breath." He says under his breath so the cashier can't hear, but he lets his laugh roar through the store. I roll my eyes, but smile. "Did you find anything for Dad?"

I shake my head no.

"I'll pay for this stuff, you can brush in the bathroom down the hall and if you're up to it we can keep looking."

He goes up to the register. As he gets the cashiers attention, I grab pocket size pack of tissues and shove them in the waistband of my jeans. I wonder how much I can get before Emmett is done paying. I go back to the aisle on the wall so I'm blocked by the middle aisle. There's a package of these little pill-like toys that you put in water. They dissolve and a shaped sponge comes out. I stick my finger through the cardboard backing. It just takes a few shakes for the little pills to fall into my hand. I push the empty package to the very back of the shelf behind some dinosaur figures. Emmett pulls out his wallet. There's a flat metal wallet that's used to keep credit cards in. They're bedazzled with tacky plastic gems. I grab one with a yellow and blue zebra print pattern on it. It fits perfectly into my jeans. The cashier hands Emmett his change and starts putting the items in a little plastic bag. I grab a handful of these pretty glass figurines that are in a plastic basket. They get shoved into my pocket, too. He hands Emmett the bag. I take another handful. Emmett heads towards me. I grab one more.

"Here, Jasper." Emmett says. He hands me the bag. "The bathroom is just out that door and on the right."

I nod and leave the gift shop. I try to keep from smiling, but I can't. My pockets are stuffed full, and not a single person knows. I go into the bathroom and tear open the toothbrush and toothpaste. Once I'm down brushing and gargle with mouthwash, I go into an empty stall.

I put the toothbrush back into the plastic package. I leave the tube of toothpaste on the back of the toilet. I use the empty toothpaste box to hide some of my new treasures in. A small portion of the glass figures fit inside and once it's full, I close the box up and put it back in the plastic bag. I put the erasers, water gun, pens, and the rest of the glass figures in the bag. The dissolvable toys fit in the wallet with a little adjusting, and then the wallet gets shoved into my coat pocket where the snow globe. I open the pocket pack of tissues, pull about half of them out, and flush them down the toilet. I crinkle the package to make it look like I've had it a while and then shove it in my front pocket. That way if anyone sees it, they'll think it's a pack that I've had for a while. I shove the back into my front coat pocket and let the plastic handle hang out. If anyone thinks my pockets are a little oddly shaped, then the plastic gift shop bag will explain it.

I come out of the bathroom and go back into the gift shop. Emmett sees me, smiles, and holds up an oval shaped sun catcher. It's a dull yellow color, and in a slightly more vibrant red is the word 'family'.

"What do you think?" Emmett asks. "It isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but I think Dad would like it."

I smile and nod. Emmett goes back to the cashier. As he pays, I go back to the polished rocks. I find a flat one that says 'love'. I pocket it. It will make a good gift for Alice.

I go back to the register. Something about it feels exciting knowing I have pockets full of things from this gift shop and not a single person here knows. Emmett pays and thanks the cashier again before we wonder out.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Emmett asks. I nod yes.

* * *

 _My foster father is in the hospital._

 _What happened?_

 _He crashed his car._

 _Really? I doubt they'll let you stay with a reckless driver. I'm going to start searching for a three bedroom apartment. I want to get you and Rosie back._

I read my Dad's last text message but I don't respond. Would he be able to get us back? Carlisle said Garth couldn't get Emmett back, but his lawyer said Emmett's opinion on who he wanted to live with would impact the case. I really, really don't want to have to go in front a judge and choose between the Cullen's and my father.

I shake my head, put the phone down, and turn my attention back to all the items on my bed. I have three erasers, one snow globe, a water gun, six pens, a pack of tissues, five dissolvable toys, one card wallet, a rock, and thirteen glass figures. Out of everything, the figures are my favorite. They're so small that they could sit on a dime without going over the edges. I have two mermaids, four elephants, four unicorn, and three birds. The majority of the figures are clear, but the mermaids have colored hair, the elephants have colored trunks and ears, the unicorns have colored horns, and the birds have colored wings. They're so pretty. I pick up one of each figure and set them aside. I'm going to give those to Rosalie.

I open my nightstand drawer and put the rest of my treasures in there. I wrap the left over figurines in a wash cloth that I took from the upstairs bathroom before setting them gently in the corner of my drawer. As soon as I shut the drawer, my phone buzzes again. I roll my eyes. I really don't want to talk to my father any more tonight, but I check the phone anyways.

 _Goodnight Jazzy, xoxo_

I chuckle. The text is from Alice, not my Dad. This is her new thing that she's been doing. She'll text me goodnight and good morning. I work on typing a response, but I'm interrupted by another text from my Dad.

 _Do you really think they care about you? Just wait. Those foster homes are only after one thing. The check. But don't worry. I'll get you and Rosie back._

I flip my phone screen down on my bed. With everything going on, that is the last thing I want to think about. I jump out of bed and head out of my room and down the stairs. I go to the kitchen and pull out a bottle of water and an apple. It's ten o'clock, and everyone else has already retired to their rooms for the night. That's fine by me, though. I turn on the television and scroll past everyone else's favorite channels until I find an old John Wayne movie. Not talking in a family with five other people means I never get suggest what to watch.

I watch the move intently and try to keep my mind off of my father when I hear the door to the garage swing open. A cold breeze sweeps through the house as Esme comes in. She shivers, kicks off her shoes and doesn't even bother to take her coat off as she comes into the living room.

"Look what was in the mail." She says. She holds up a magazine, sits next to me and sets it on my lap. "I asked the pet store to send us one of their catalogs."

I smile, but she sees right through it.

"Are you still shaken up by everything with Carlisle?"

I nod. I am worried about Carlisle, and that's much easier to explain than my Dad issue.

"Oh, Jasper," Esme sighs. She lightly runs her fingers through my hair. "You worry about a lot, don't you?"

I shrug and she takes my hand in her free one.

"No need for worrying. Everything is okay. Carlisle will be back to normal in about eight weeks. When the car rolled, his left kneecap slammed into the dashboard, which caused the fracture. He'll be in a cast for that, but it will heal just fine. The cracked ribs will heal just fine, and so will his nose. The cut on his chin may leave a small scar but that's all. The biggest issue Carlisle will have is letting his brain take a break. With a concussion, he shouldn't be straining his brain, so he won't be working on that paper he's been writing, and he will be taking at least two months off of work for it. But that isn't a big deal. Everything will be alright. When it's time to come home he will look much better than he did today."

I nod again to let her know I'm listening.

"And I spoke with our lawyer. They're pushing the adoption papers through as fast as they can. We will be getting a court date soon." She says with a smile. She drops my hand and leaves my hair to wrap me in a hug. I hug her back, squeezing her tightly. My father's words rattle around my brain. Will the papers be stopped because of my Dad? "You are already a part of this family, but I still can't wait to make it official."

She pulls back from the hug and takes my hand again.

"And we can't forget about your dog."

I smile back.

"I'm sorry all of this happened so close to your birthday. But hopefully this shows Carlisle that he can't keep pushing himself like this."

I nod again.

"I talked to one of his coworkers who breeds dogs. He has German shepherds. His son is a trainer, too. Hopefully we can get you a dog in just a few weeks."

She lets out another sigh.

"Can you promise me something?" She asks. I shake my head yes. "I know this is stressful. If you need someone to talk to, or if there is anything that will make you more comfortable, just let me know. I love you, Jasper."

She pulls me into a hug and squeezes me tightly. I hug her back.

"I love you too," I murmur. "Mom."

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	23. Chapter 23

She's so light on top of me. Her silk shirt was cool on my bare chest when we started, but now the soft fabric is warm against my skin. She kisses me. I keep my arms around her, holding her as close to me as possible. She tangles her fingers in my hair. I twirl the hem of her shirt until I finally get the courage to slide my hand between it and her back.

I think this is the only good thing about Carlisle being in the hospital. Esme is there 24/7, and when Rose, Emmett, and Edward go to visit him, I have the house to myself. No one can tell us to keep the door open or to hang out downstairs.

Alice reaches her hand down towards my jeans. She slides her index finger from hip bone to hip bone, making me shiver. I work my hand farther up her shirt and she goes a little farther down with every stroke and-

"I love you, Jasper." Alice says, yanking her hand back up and resting it on my shoulder.

"Love you, too."

She smiles and gives me one last kiss before rolling off of me. She pulls the blanket up around her shoulders.

"I got you something." I murmur. I sit up and reach over her to my nightstand. As soon as I grab the rock from the drawer, I'm overcome by humiliation.

It's a rock. What kind of idiot gets his girlfriend a polished rock?

"It's kinda dumb, but," I shrug, hold it out to her and look the other way. I can feel my cheeks burning red. It's such a stupid gift. I should have gotten her something better.

"Thank you, Jasper!" She says happily. I can feel her fingers taking it from my palm. "It's so pretty. I love it!"

She practically leaps into a sitting position and catches me in a hug that I wasn't prepared for. Her arms squeeze me tightly. Maybe it wasn't a stupid gift after all. She seems to like it. I smile and hug her back. She smells like coconuts.

"You like it?" I ask.

"Of course I do." She responds. She pulls from the hug and kisses me again, only to be interrupted by her phone vibrating. She sighs and grabs it from on top of my nightstand to read the text. "It's my Mom. She's here to pick me up."

We stand from the bed and she takes me hand as we walk to the lower level. At the front door, she pulls on her snow boots and I hold her coat open for her. She leaves with another kiss and another hug. She slides the rock into her pocket and promises to always carry it with her.

Her mom honks the horn from the driveway, so Alice has to hurry outside. I watch from the window to make sure she gets to the car without slipping on the icy sidewalk. Carlisle usually shovels and puts salt down, but it's been neglected since he's been in the hospital.

Once she's gone, I run upstairs to grab my cell phone, and then head to the kitchen for a snack. The grocery list has been neglected, too. Esme spends almost all day at the hospital, and the money she gives us for food is usually used on pizza or McDonalds, so the refrigerator is looking pretty bare. I grab an apple and a cup of vanilla yogurt. The silverware drawer is dwindling down to just a few clear cutlery left. I take the last clean knife and a spoon. Esme usually does the dishes too. The sink is starting to overflow with dishes.

After cutting up the apple, I settle down at the table and scroll through my Facebook. My Dad posted another old picture.

It's a picture of me, Rosalie, and my Dad. He's in the middle, sitting on the couch. I'm standing on his left leg and Rosalie is on his right. We're about three or four years old. Dad has his arms out, and our little hands hold onto it for balance. His smile stretches from ear to ear. Rosalie and I are smiling too, but they don't look real. They look forced and fake. The biggest problem with this picture, though, is the big black eye I have.

I click on the comments, and the third one down asks about the shiner I have. The commenter tells my dad how cute we were and all that other crap people always say on pictures of kids, but I don't care about that. I just want to know what my Dad said.

 _Jasper was always a clumsy kid lol. That was around Christmas time. He got a ball and threw it against the wall. It came back and knocked him in the face. He was always hurting himself. He was real rough and tumble kind of boy_

I can't really remember that far back. Maybe I did biff myself in the face with a ball. But from what Rosalie has told me before, it's most likely that Dad gave me that black eye.

I close Facebook and pull up my text messages.

 _Hi Dad. The whole family is gone for the day. Can you pick me?_

I hit send, put the phone down and start chowing down on my apples and yogurt, waiting for a response. When I don't get one right away, I start to worry. I probably shouldn't have used the word "family".

I turn my phone so the screen is facing down. I look around the kitchen for something to do. Everywhere I look I see something that needs done, so I sigh, stand, and get to work.

* * *

The counter is clean of any crumbs, the dishwasher is running, the big pans are drying in the plastic rack next to the sink, the floor is swept and mopped. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn close. There's still a pile of mail on the counter, so I sit down to sort through that. I make a piles for whoever the mail is for. Emmett has a few envelopes from different colleges, Edward has a magazine, and Esme and Carlisle have mostly bills. There is one magazine for Esme, though. It's a catalog for candles and sprays and wax, just like all the lavender things I have in my bedroom. I flip it open. The lavender doesn't really do much for me- I still wake up in the middle of the night. I turn the pages, looking through all the dramatic names. Vanilla Cupcake Venture, Wild Flower Forever, Red Rose Romance.

One catches my eye, though. Coconut Cabana in little wax cubes. I get up and go to Carlisle's office. There's a stack of post-it notes on his desk. I take one and a pen, and a book of stamps that were left out on the desk. I put the stamps in my pocket to take to my drawer later and return to the kitchen. I stick it to the magazine page before scribbling a note on it.

 _Can I get the Coconut Cabana wax? -Jasper_

I keep the magazine open and set it in the middle of the counter so I know Esme will see it when she gets home tonight. Just as I do, my phone vibrates on the table. I jump to get it, and see a message from my Dad.

 _I just got off work. Give me an address and I'll come pick you up._

I send him the Cullen's address and run upstairs to change from my pajamas and put the book of stamps in my treasure drawer.

* * *

My Dad lives in a duplex. He has one side and a guy next to him has the other. It's in a cul-de-sac with identical duplexes circling it. They're all painted the same shade of gray. The whole lot of them look rough. One has a couch sitting on the front lawn, another has about six dogs tied all around the yard with big chains, one has a big window broken out and is replaced with a big sheet of plywood. Dad's isn't too bad. The four plastic trashcans against the house are overflowing, and he pulls stand to wash his windows, but overall it's not too bad.

"Here we are." He tells me as he parks the truck in the driveway. I jump out of the passenger seat and wait for Dad head towards the front door. I follow him and keep looking around the slummy circle. One lady glares at me from her front stoop, where she stands bundled up in a coat that's too big for her while she smokes a cigarette.

We walk in, and I'm instantly overwhelmed by the smell of cigarette smoke. It hits me in the face like a ton of bricks. I can't help but cough. The front door leads right to the living room. A worn out leather couch, a tall floor lamp, and an entertainment center with an old box TV is the only furniture in here. The entertainment center is full of random crap. Open mail, empty pop cans and beer bottles, DVD cases, cigarette boxes, a tattered phone book, two ashtrays full of cigarette butts. The picture on the TV screen is fuzzy. There are glass doors to the side of the television and below it, and they're stuffed full, just like the top of the entertainment center. The brown carpet is stained and burned in spots, and the ceiling is yellow all throughout the room.

That's not the most concerning part of the room though. The most concerning part is the woman on the couch. She's in a pair of men's camouflage sweatpants that hand too low on her hips and a bra that's too small. Her breasts are barely contained in it, and one of her nipples are hanging out. She has on a matching thong that sits higher than the sweatpants. Her black hair is matted and knotted, and she has a red cut on her lip, like it was busted open. There's an ashtray on the floor in front of her with a lit cigarette sitting in it.

"Jesus Christ, Jen," Dad huffs. He goes over to the couch and shakes her shoulder as I kick my shoes off. My eyes start to burn from smoke. It takes a few hard shakes for her to wake up. She groans and looks up at my dad. "You're a fucking mess. I told you I was bringing my boy over! Get out!"

Jen struggles to sit up. She blinks a few times as she looks around the room. She stares me right at me as she pushes her boob back in the bra. She struggles to her feet, scratches her stomach, and wonders off down the hall. Dad rolls his eyes.

"Don't mind her. She ain't to bright." Dad tells me, then points towards an archway that goes towards the kitchen. "There's pop and beer in the refrigerator. Help yourself. Search through some cabinets if you're hungry."

I walk to the kitchen and I can feel all the crud from the dirty carpet under my socks. Something gets stuck to the bottom of my foot.

The kitchen isn't much better. There's dirt on the tan-colored floor, and the counters have crumbs and plates and all kinds of different thinks stacked on it. There's no dinner table, not like at the Cullen's. The handle of the refrigerator it discolored from constant use without cleaning.

When he said there's pop and beer in the refrigerator, he described about 80% of the contents. There's a shelf full of beer and pop cans, a tub of butter, something wrapped up in tinfoil, and two eggs.

"Hey, grab me a beer, too!" He calls.

Is he telling me I can have a beer? I grab two cans of beer anyways. If he asks why I have one for myself, I'll tell him it was a mistake and I thought I grabbed a pop. I take it back into the living room and hand one to my Dad. He takes the beer, looks at the second one in my hand and smiles. I settle down on the couch and crack it open. He reaches over and pats my shoulder.

"You like the same beer as your old man."

I wait until he angrily stands from the couch after clicking the remote control at the television to take a sip. When his back is to me, I cringe at the bitter taste. I don't know how people can so calmly drink this crap.

As soon as Dad is done beating the side of the television to get a clear picture, he turns back towards me and I act like the sip of beer never made me wince. He sits down and flips over to some old sitcom.

"So what's up with that guy you're living with? He's in the hospital or something?"

"Hospital." I say. "He rolled his car."

"How'd that happen?" He asks with a snort and a smirk, like he found humor in Carlisle's accident.

"Well, he's a doctor. A really good doctor, and he's always on call. He had a really long shift and feel asleep at the wheel. He totaled his Mercedes." I explain. He laughs.

"That's why you need a good ole truck like mine. That thing has never let me down."

I pierce my lips together. Carlisle's Mercedes is much more impressive than Dad's truck. Dad probably bought his truck for under a thousand bucks from a pal. Carlisle bought his new.

Dad goes off to ask about our birthday and tells me to remind him to give me the gifts he got for me and Rose.

I agree to remind him and he goes off about some drama going on at work, but I struggle to focus on him. I work on keeping a straight face as I sip my beer and wonder if he really could get me and Rosie back. Maybe I've been spoiled at the Cullen's, but this house isn't the kind of place I want to live in.

"And Ben is finally back. They couldn't put his finger back on, though. You know, they drug test the whole factory when anyone loses a finger or toe or arm or something. Man," he chuckles. "People hear that there was an accident and they rush to the vending machines and the drinking fountains to try flush any weed from their system. I've even stuck my head under the bathroom sink to chug some water."

I chuckle at his story, even though I do t really find it that funny. I take another awful sip of beer and wait for Dad to continue complaining about the factory, but he doesn't say anything else, so I take the chance to change the subject.

"I saw that picture on Facebook. Do you have anymore pictures?"

"Yeah, of course," He says and points to the tall door to the right of the television. "There's four albums on the top shelf. Go ahead and take them out."

I happily abandon my half-full beer can on the carpet to go dig out the photo albums. I have to wiggle the albums out slowly with one hand and keep my other hand on the huge stack of random junk it's on top of to keep it from spilling over. Once I finally get the four albums free, I go back to the couch and open one up on my lap. I just flip through the pages, amazed at how many pictures my Dad actually has. Every single photo sleeve is full. Most of the pictures are just me and Rose. There are some with just Rose and Dad, me and Dad, or both of us and Dad. There are very few pictures of us with our mother. I finally find one, though. And catch myself staring at her. I've almost forgotten what she looked like.

"She never cared about you two." Dad grumbles. "She never fed you, bought you clothes, nothing like that."

"I don't really remember her." I admit quietly. That makes him smile.

"You're not missing out on much. She was pretty useless."

I flip the page. There's a picture of me sitting with a big German Shepherd. I point it out to Dad.

"Whose dog is this?"

"That was the neighbors. You loved that dog."

"What was his name?"

"Goliath or Giant or something."

"I'm getting a dog."

"Cool."

He keeps sipping his beer and turns his attention back to the TV.

"You should probably go check on Jen." I suggest.

Dad scrunched his eyebrows are me. He clenches his jaw and leans over towards me, putting his index finger right in my face. His eyes go hard and he scowls.

"Listen up, kid. You do not tell me what to do. Got it?" He growls.

My eyes widen and I shake my head yes. He leans back to where he was sitting originally.

"I don't know what you get away with at that doctor's house, but around here you're not the one in charge."

I nod again and look back down at the photo albums. He doesn't say anything else and neither do I. I don't know what I should do, but I get a strong instinct to keep my head down and my mouth shut. I keep flipping through the album pages. My fingers start to shake and my heart races. I damn near jump out of my skin when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out to see an angry message from Rosalie.

 _WHERE ARE YOU?_

I don't know what to say. I glance up at my Dad for just a split second before looking back down at my phone and typing out a message.

 _Is Esme home?_

I press send, and within twenty seconds I get a response.

 _No, but she's going to be pissed if you're not home! Where are you?_

I put my phone back in my pocket.

"Dad?" I say with a shaky voice. I keep my head down. "Could you please take me back? They're wondering where I am."

He doesn't respond right away and I panic. I didn't say home, I didn't say Mom or Dad, and I asked. But he doesn't seem to be happy.

"Fine." He finally says. He chugs the last of his beer. "Get your shoes on."

I close the album and go to put it back in the entertainment center, but Dad stops me dead in my tracks when his hand falls heavily on my shoulder.

"You can take those with you. Show them to Rosie."

"Thank you." I say quietly.

* * *

I jog to the garage as Dad backs down the driveway. He drives too fast, which is fine in this situation. I need him to be out of sight as fast as possible. By the time I reach the door, he's long gone.

I think I'm in the clear, but when I open the door to the house, I'm face to face with my irate sister. She stands with her hands on her hips and a glare that could scare away the devil.

"Where were you?" She demands.

I drop my head and step around her. She spins on her heels and follows me toward the stairs.

"Don't pull this, Jasper. Where were you?"

I keep walking until I get to my room. She's hot on my heels, though.

"Where were you Jasper? I called Alice and she said she wasn't with you. Where were you? Who were you with?"

I set the two grocery bags of photo albums on my bed and I lay down next to it, burying my face in my pillow.

"Oh, no, Jasper. You don't get to do this with me. You do t get to pull this whole 'not talking' shit." She comes over and plops down on my bed. When I don't look up at her, she sighs. I hear the crinkling of the plastic bags. "What do you have here?"

It only takes a moment for her to pull an album out and gasp.

"Where did you get these? Jasper," Her voice rises, the panic growing more and more. "Please tell me you didn't see him. You didn't, did you?"

I don't respond.

"Jasper," She puts her hand on my back. It's shaking. "Did you get these from Dad?"

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	24. Chapter 24

Rosalie can't stop crying. Her tears keep pouring out. She's quiet about it, though. She doesn't sob or whine. I just keep hoping that she'll calm down enough for me to talk to her. She puts her head on my shoulder.

"Why would you go see him, Jasper?" She finally asks softly. "After all he has done to you."

"Listen, Rosie." I murmur and my mind races for some kind of lie to cover my tracks. "I didn't block him on Facebook. He posted an few old pictures of us. I just messaged him asking for some photos. So I met up with him to pick up the photo albums. I'll block him and I will never, ever talk to him again. Okay?"

"He hurt you so much. Why did you even add him?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

"Jazzy," She sighs and lifts her head. Her tears have stained her cheeks. "You don't even understand everything he's done to you, do you? You can hardly talk because of him. You have scars because of him. He's caused so much hurt. Do you remember all the times we cried because we were afraid they would separate us?"

I don't say anything. Instead, I pull her into a hug and hold her tight.

"Promise me you won't see him again." She says. "I don't think I could handle worrying about you being around him."

"I promise, Rosie. Cross my heart."

"Thanks," She lets out a sigh and squeezes me tighter before pulling away. She grabs a photo album. "Well, at least you got these. He isn't expecting them back, is he?"

"Nope. He said I could keep them." I lie again.

"Cool."

She flips one open and she smiles at the pictures of us. She points at them and tells me different things she remembers about what was going on when they were taken. She passes over the ones where I'm bruised, through. One page has our birth announcement from the newspaper in it. Rosalie and I were laying shoulder to shoulder.

"This is a good picture." She tells me. I nod.

"It is."

"And this one too." She points to a picture of us in a crib together. We're both standing up and using the bars to steady ourselves. We're probably about nine months old.

"Yeah, it is. Hey, Rosie," I say. "You're not going to tell Carlisle and Esme, are you?"

She doesn't respond. She just keeps her eyes on the photos.

"You know, they're dealing with a lot of stress right now and if they find out about this it will just make them stress even more."

"I won't tell them." She finally says. "But don't see him again or I will. He's no good, Jasper."

* * *

"Jasper, let's get going!" Esme calls from the lower floor. "They open in twenty minutes!"

I grab my jacket and run downstairs. Esme is waiting for me at the door. I smile at her, and she smiles back.

"Did you sleep well last night?" She asks as I grab my tennis shoes and pull them on. I shrug. "You're usually not that difficult to wake up."

I slept well for the last four hours, but that was the only sleep I got. After I assured Rosalie that I wasn't going to stay in contact with our Dad, I was up all night. My mind was racing with trying to think of ways to cover up what has happened. I was desperate to find a way to explain the sudden appearance of our childhood photos if Esme and Carlisle found them, and what I could do to see my Dad again without being caught.

As soon as Esme let me know what our plans are for today, though, I woke right up. Since the accident, Esme has been at the hospital early every morning, so I was shocked when Esme woke me up and said I wouldn't be going to school today. Instead, she said the two of us would be stopping at the humane society to look at the dogs there. One of the nurses volunteers there and told her they just cleared a German shepherd puppy for adoption. If all goes well, I'll be able to get that puppy sooner than I could get a puppy from a breeder.

We head out the door and into her car. It's nothing fancy, just a newer Ford Focus. Carlisle probably isn't going to be happy going from driving his Mercedes to Esme's Mom-mobile. We pull out of the drive and she starts chatting.

"Thank you for cleaning the kitchen, sweetheart. I put in an order for the coconut wax, too. Did the others tell you about Carlisle being discharged tomorrow?" She asks. I shake my head no. She lets out a sigh. "They were supposed to let you know. Anyways, he looks much better than he did when you last saw him. He still has his stitches, but his bruising and swelling has gone down tremendously. He has slept well so he doesn't look nearly as worn down. He will be alternating between a wheelchair and crutches due to his cast, but he isn't supposed to be putting strain on himself. He won't be returning to work for about three weeks so he can give the concussion time to heal. It's going to be different, but things will be better in the long run."

I nod to let her know I'm listening.

"If you are ever uncomfortable around Carlisle with his injuries, don't hesitate to let us know. You won't hurt anyone's feelings if you need to leave the room or have Carlisle keep his distance from you until he has healed more."

"So don't puke." I summarize for her. She laughs.

"Pretty much." She says with a laugh. Her eyes glance over from the road to me. "You know, Jasper, you have a beautiful voice. You have no reason to hide it from people."

* * *

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure we can get away with not having a vet reference." The humane society receptionist tells Esme as she fills out an adoption application form. I don't pay much mind to them, though.

The puppy's name is Pongo, but he doesn't look much like a puppy. He's just under a year old and is a whopping eighty-six pounds of wild fluff. His coat is a beautiful black and red color. His big ears stick straight up. I pull my phone out to take a picture of him, but he's too excited to get a good picture of. He keeps bouncing around at my feet, pawing at my legs and wagging his tail. I kneel down next to him and he instantly starts licking my face. I laugh, causing Esme to pause in her paperwork to look down at me. She smiles as I pull my camera app up and take a picture of me with Pongo. I send the picture to Carlisle, Rose, Alice, and my Dad.

"How's Dr. Cullen doing? The whole town has been worried about him." The lady asks.

"He's doing great. He's just a little restless. He's not use to being the patient." Esme explains. The receptionist goes on to tell Esme about how she was bit by a dog and Carlisle helped her, but I'm distracted from that by an incoming text from Carlisle.

 _I thought you were going to look for a puppy?_

I type a message back as well as I can with Pongo's nose nudging at my hands.

 _He is a puppy. He's only eleven months old. He's going to be huge._

* * *

Carlisle sits on the couch, his casted leg extended out on the cushions. Esme sits next to him. They laugh and joke and smile with the rest of us. They look at each other in a way that can't be described as anything but pure love. She holds his hand in hers and rubs it. Carlisle smiles at her. When Esme laughs, Carlisle's eyes light up. When Carlisle speaks, he has Esme's full attention. She pats his hair into place and asks about his pain and if he needs more water. Carlisle has always been the patriarch, the man in charge, the one in total control, but he completely relinquished that power over to Esme now. He thanks her over and over when she brings him his pain medication and water and snacks and whatever else he needs.

Rosie and I have been to many foster homes. We have been in the care of many different couples, but none compare to Esme and Carlisle.

I can't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy when I look at Emmett and Edward. Edward was born into this great family, and although Emmett isn't blood, he was practically born into the Cullen family too. They don't even seem phased by the connection their parents have. They've never seen Carlisle hit Esme, and they've never been whooped on by him either. Edward was never taken away, and Emmett was too young to remember when CPS took him from Garth. And even when Emmett moved out, he and Edward knew exactly where they could find each other. They never had to worry about losing each other.

I glance over at Rosalie. Her smile lets me know the magic between Carlisle and Esme is not lost on her.

It isn't too late when Carlisle starts yawning and dozing off. Esme quickly shoos him off to bed. He hobbled away and she follows him, and the rest of us decide to call it a night too. Emmett and Edward head up first, and Rose and I hang back in the living room.

"It's nice having Carlisle back home." She tells me. I smile and nod. "I can't wait to actually be adopted, you know? To just officially be a part of a family."

"Me too, Rosie." I agree. She tilts her head at me.

"Emmett and Edward have never heard you talk. Jazz, if they're going to be your brothers, you really need to talk to them."

I just shrug. Rosalie tilts her head the other way.

"Why haven't you talked to them? I can't imagine you're not comfortable around them. You just sat here laughing with them all. Is it just habit to keep quiet?"

I don't really have an answer for her.

"Just think about, Jasper. You really need to talk to everyone in this house."

I give her a little nod and immediately stand from the couch and head upstairs. Rosalie sighs and turns he television on. I stop at the bathroom door and wait for whoever is in there to come out. That is one of the only downsides of this family. With four of us upstairs, the bathroom up here is almost always occupied. It only takes a few seconds for the door to fling open and Emmett comes out in just his boxers. He slaps my shoulder as he walks by.

"G'night, bro." He says.

I go into the bathroom and trip over Emmett's jeans and tee shirt that he just left right in the middle of the floor. I grumble and kick the pile of clothes out of my way, and as soon as I do, his wallet slides out of his pocket. It seems to stare me right in the face. I glance at the door knob to make sure it's locked.

I grab the dark brown leather wallet. I know this isn't right, but I open it anyways. Inside is Emmett's driver's license, a few gift cards, some business cards, and an old tattered family picture of him, Carlisle, Esme, and Edward. I ignore those and thumb through the rest of the wallet. He has fifty-four dollars cash, a punch card for the local coffee shop, and a 25% off coupon for a frozen drink from the gas station. I grab the punch card and slide it into my pocket.

I carefully put the wallet back in his pant pocket. It's just an old punch card. He needs to buy three more cups of coffee and then he'll get a free cup. It's not like it's worth anything, and I'm sure he won't miss it.

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	25. Chapter 25

"When can we go get my dog?" I murmur quietly to Carlisle.

"Jasper Lee, I've told you already that we have to wait for them to clear the adoption form. Don't get too set on that dog, either. We don't have vet references, so that might keep us from being eligible to get him." Carlisle says with a heavy sigh. I smirk. No one has used my middle name like that before. "If it doesn't work out with that dog, we will get one from a breeder."

Carlisle pushes himself forward in the wheelchair, gliding down the pet store aisles. He didn't want to bring the wheelchair, but being on the crutches all day wore him out and slowed him down. He was determined to take me to the pet store like he promised for my birthday, though, so he settled for the wheelchair. He had to settle for having Emmett drive us here, too. After all, he can't drive with that big cast on his leg.

"How long until we hear back about-"

I cut myself off as soon as I see a woman and two young kids turn down the aisle. The older of the two boys spots Carlisle and makes a beeline for him.

"Dr. Cullen! Dr. Cullen!" He calls in a high pitch, squeaky voice. He holds out his right arm that is casted in a bright green cast. Carlisle smiles at him. "You got a cast like me!"

"Well hello there, Griffon." Carlisle greets him. "How have you been?"

"Griffon!" The mother calls. She rushes over to him and places her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen."

"It's no problem. How have you been Mr. Griffon?" Carlisle asks the little boy.

"You have a cast like me." He repeats. Carlisle nods.

"Yeah."

"Did you cry?"

"Of course not. I told you it's not scary. Remember?" Carlisle asks him. Griffon shakes his head yes rapidly. Carlisle points to me. "Karen, I don't think you've met my boy Jasper before."

"It's nice to meet you, Jasper." The women says. She gestures to the cart I'm pushing with a twenty pound bag of dog food, a huge red plaid dog bed, and a variety of other random dog items. "Picking up things for your dog?"

"Yeah. We're looking to get a dog for Jasper." Carlisle explains.

"Can I sign your cast?" Griffon asks. Carlisle chuckles.

"Sure. Do you have a marker with you?"

"Mom has one!"

Karen digs through her purse and pulls out a black marker. Griffon's tongue pokes out from between his lips as he focuses on the letters he's writing. They're large and shaky, but he looks to be about six years old, so it's pretty good for his age. When he's done, he smiles proudly at Carlisle.

"Thanks buddy."

Griffon keeps his big smile as he points to a sloppy signature on his cast. The only letters that can be made out are D C and another C.

"Yup. Now we both have each other's signature."

"Okay Griffon, leg's let Dr. Cullen continue his shopping." Karen tells her son. She gives him a little nudge to get him moving. Griffon waves at Carlisle.

"Bye, Dr. Cullen!"

"Bye, Griffon. Bye, Tommy." Carlisle waves goodbye to both boys. The younger one, probably three or four years old, smiles but ducks his head as they walk away. Carlisle chuckles. "He got his cast during my shift before the accident."

I just nod as we wonder down the aisle. I stop by a display of collars and find a wide black leather collar. Carlisle rolls down the aisle and looks through a spinning shelf of books. He grabs two books and dumps them in the cart when I join him. "Your First Dog: An Owners Guide" and "Training Basics".

"I'm assuming you were asking about how long it will take for the application to be approved. It will probably take a week or so. What else do we need?" He asks. I shrug. "We've got food, a bed, a crate, collar, a bag of treats, some toys."

I shrug again.

"Well, if that's all we need then let's find Emmett and head home."

* * *

"The game that has torn countless numbers of family's apart. Dun, dun, dun!" Emmett says dramatically as he pulls the lid off of the Monopoly box.

We're all back in the living room. With Carlisle off of work, we've all been spending most of our time here. Carlisle sits on the couch to accommodate the cast, and Esme is next to him. The rest of us are on the floor around the coffee table. Edward is next to Esme, then Rose, then me, and finally Emmett.

I take the little dog, Edward is the ship, Emmett is the car, Rosalie grabs the thimble, Carlisle is the shoe, and Esme uses a plastic figure from Candy Land. Other than a few missing and replace pawns, the rest of the game is all there. Rosalie offers to be the banker, and it takes a moment for the cards and money to get organized. Carlisle smiles as Rosalie distributes the money.

"When was the last time we actually sat down to play a game as a family?" He asks.

"It was before Rose and Jasper came along." Edward answers.

We start going around the board, and with six players, it doesn't take long for properties to get bought up. Although that is the goal of the game, it brings on a challenge for me.

"Does owns Vermont Avenue yet?" Emmett asks. I hold up one finger. That one's mine. He must not see me. "I'll buy it."

I lower my hand. Rosalie searches through the property cards. I nudge her with my elbow, but she doesn't notice.

"I don't have it. Is it missing?"

I nudge her again, harder this time. She turns to me and gives me a scowl.

"What, Jasper?"

I show her my property card.

"Oh. Jasper has it. How much does he owe you, Jasper?" Rose asks. I point to the rent cost. She sighs, tells Emmett, and he pays me.

We go around again, and we run into the same issue with Carlisle and St. James Place. I show Rose the price again. She announces it one more time, but not without an annoyed huff. Esme takes her turn, and Rosalie whispers to me.

"You have to speak, Jasper. We talked about this, remember?" She tells me.

I gulp. Of course I remember.

I watch the dice carefully, praying that no one else lands on my properties. This isn't fun. Esme skips over my properties. Edward rolls and I pray he doesn't get a six. My sight is glued to the dice as the roll across the board. It seems like they take forever to land.

Four and two.

Shit.

He moves his ship across the board, stopping at my rail road.

"Who's property?" He asks. I look at Rosalie. She looks me in the eyes, looks down at my cards, and then turns her head the other way.

She completely cut me off.

I can't believe her!

"Anyone?" Edward asks again. I hold up my card. "How much do I owe you?"

I look over at Rosalie. She still looking the other way. I nudge her again, but she completely ignores it. My heart starts to beat a little faster.

"Uh," I stall. I look back over at Rosalie. She rearranges her money.

My throat starts to tighten. My heart beat races. I remember what Rosalie said, though. _You really need to talk to everyone in this house._ I can do that. That's simple, right? All I have to say is 'twenty-five dollars'. That's it. Three words, five syllables, seventeen letters. No biggies. Should take less than two second to just spit it out real quick. Not a problem.

"Emmett, help-" Esme starts to say, but I cut her off. I can do this. I can totally do this.

"Tw-twenty," I force out. I give my head a little shake, as if it will clear out my worries, and try again. "Tw-tw-twenty."

I pause. Am I even hearing the words right in my head? Since when do I stutter? That's never been an issue before.

"Twenty dollars?" Edward asks. I shake my head no and try again.

"Tw-twen-twenty f-"

"Twenty-five?" Edward asks. I shoot him an angry glare. I can do this by myself. He doesn't need to finish my sentinces.

"Twent-twenty," I try to say, but it's not coming out. My jaw clenches. My hands start to sweat. I feel choked up. My eyes start to mist over. Why can't I do this? The card shakes in my fingers. I open my mouth again, but I can't force anything out.

"Here, bro, let me see it." Emmett says, holding his hand out to me. I look down at the printed rent price on the card. Three simple symbols. $25. Why won't it come out?

I give up.

I drop the card to the coffee table, jump to my feet and storm off. I can't even say a few simple words. How ridiculous is that? I run up the stairs.

"Jasper, honey!" Esme calls with a sigh. "Come back down, sweetheart."

"Jasper!" Rosalie harps up to me. I don't pay her any mind, though. If I'm so easy to ignore, then I won't have and issue ignoring her.

"Buddy, hand on!" Carlisle orders.

By the time I hit the top of the steps, my tears are already flowing. There's no way I'm going back down there to face everyone with tears rolling down my face. I've embarrassed myself enough.

I stomp to my room and slam the door. My breathing is rapid and uneven, and I'm practically gasping for air.

"Jasper?" Rosalie's voice interrupts me through the door. I shake my head without thinking that she can't see me through the door. She opens it just enough to slide it, and shuts it ever so quietly. "Jasper, relax. It's not that big of a deal."

"Y-you wouldn't help me!" I shout at her. "You w-wouldn't even h-help me!"

"Jasper," She almost whispers. Her eyes grow wide, but I don't really care if I'm scaring her. "I'm sorry."

"You're supposed to help me!"

"I'm sorry!" She repeats. Her shoulders slump forward and she holds one hand over her mouth.

"G-get out of my room!"

She doesn't waste any time with that. As soon as the words leave my mouth, she's out like a flash. She leave my door wide open though. I stomp over and take all my anger out on it as I slam it shut. I flop down on my bed, bury my face into my pillow, and scream as loud as I can.

It's only a few minutes until I hear another knock at my door. I don't bother to get off of my bed to answer it. A few seconds pass before I hear Esme's voice.

"Jasper, honey. Can Carlisle and I come in?" She asks. Her voice is so soft.

Another handful of seconds pass by before I hear Carlisle's voice. He's huffing and puffing, like he's out of breath.

"We're coming in, son."

I hear my door open. I wrap my arms around my pillow. I can hear Esme's steps and the click of Carlisle's crutches. They take their time getting to my bed.

"Talk first, punishment later." I hear Esme whisper.

"Right. Okay." Carlisle agrees.

They sit on the edge of my bed. Esme rubs my back.

"Sit up, buddy. Let's talk." Carlisle says.

"Come on, sweetheart."

I take a deep breath and push myself up. I slide in the space between Carlisle and Esme. Esme gasps when she sees my face.

"Oh, honey," She sighs and instantly grabs me in a hug. I hug her back and rest my head on her shoulders. She lets me cry like that. Carlisle's hand falls on my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

"I-I can't even talk right."

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	26. Chapter 26

"Easy does it, Jasper. You're okay buddy."

My eyes snap open to Carlisle leaning next to me, shaking my shoulder. I jump away from him instinctively, and he sits up again, his back leaning against the wall. He's still sitting on the foot of my bed.

"You were screaming again." He explains with a yawn.

"Again?"

"You've been screaming off and on for the past two hours." He tells me. "I didn't want to leave you before you fell asleep for good."

I reach towards the end table for my phone, but it isn't there. It takes me a moment to realize I'm still in my jeans and tee shirt. I grab my phone from my pocket and check the time. 11:16 PM.

"Are you okay?" He asks. I nod and fling my legs from the bed to the floor and head to my dresser. Carlisle reaches for his crutches. I grab a pair of sweatpants from the drawer, unbuckle my jeans and drop them to the floor. I yank the sweats on and stop Carlisle before he's even half way out of my room.

"Stay?"

"What?"

"Stay with me?"

"Sure, buddy."

We return to my bed. I lay down and he takes a moment to get comfortable on the end of my bed.

"I'm sorry." I murmur.

"It's okay, Jasper."

We just wait there in silence. I close my eyes and try to sleep, but it's not coming easily.

"Jasper?" Carlisle says quietly.

"Hmm?"

"You know you are loved here, don't you?" He asks. "We don't care if you stutter. I do wish you would talk to the rest of the family, but even if you don't, we still love you. Above all, we want you to be comfortable and feel safe. You are a part of this family and will always be loved."

"I love you too, Dad."

* * *

"Rise and shine, it's Christmas time!" Emmett yells down the hall. I groan as I sit up and rub my eyes. Carlisle is still at the foot of my bed, dead to the world. I get up carefully so I don't wake him, set his crutches on the bed next to him, and change from pajamas into a clean pair of pants and tee shirt before going downstairs.

The living room looks like Santa Claus barfed in it. There are red storage containers everywhere, at least fifteen of them. There's wreaths and green garland scattered about the floor. A big, rectangular box is open and artificial tree limbs are spewing out of it. The piano has been pushed from its place in the corner of the living room and the big stand for the Christmas tree is already up. It's at least ten feet tall.

"Hi honey," Esme says as I come down the steps. "Is Carlisle still upstairs?"

I nod yes and keep looking around. There's so much stuff.

"Sit with me, Jasper." Rosalie tells me with a small smile. She's cross legged on the floor with Edward, and a big red container is between them. I sit next to her and peer into the box as Edward digs through it. It's full of Christmas ornaments.

"This one was from my first piano recital." He tells us, holding up a tiny piano shaped ornament. He sets that one on a pile on the floor and grabs another from the box. This one is a Spider Man ornament. "This is Emmett's."

"We got that one when he was four. He went through a phase where he swore he was Spider Man." Esme laughs. "He had a Spider Man mask that he wore for about ten months straight."

"Do you have pictures of it?" Rose asks.

"We do. Remind me this afternoon to pull out the photo albums."

Emmett comes back downstairs and helps Esme put the branches on the tree. Edward stops with the ornaments and asks for my help hanging the green garland from the railing on the stairs. I agree, and as we hang it, Rosalie watches to make sure it's even. We wrap it around the newel at the bottom of the steps, then again in the middle, and once more at the top newel and wallet the rest loop down. It's already wrapped in white lights, and Esme instructs us to take a spool of wide red ribbon to wrap around it. She abandons Emmett with the tree to dig out red bows that she wants hung from the newel's and where it is hooked in the middle of railing. Rosalie starts digging through and finding all kinds of different Christmas decorations. Figures, statues, pictures, lights, nativity scenes. Everything you could imagine, Esme has it.

We work on the Christmas decorations all together, and it's like last night never happened. We hang the garland, we replace the typical throw pillows on the couch with Christmas themed pillows, switch photos from regular frames to Christmas frames. We even put decorations in the bathroom. Every time I turn around, there's more decorations.

Emmett volunteers Edward, himself, and myself to put decorations up outside. Esme tells us to bundle up, so we all head upstairs to dress in warmer clothes. Emmett and Edward stop me in the hall right before my bedroom. They stand side by side, blocking the way to my door.

"We want to talk to you." Edward says. I scrunch up my brow. What are they up to?

"Did you know Edward wet the bed until he was ten?"

"Emmett!" Edward gasps. His jaw drops and he gives Emmett the evil eye.

"You know you were going to wimp out and not tell him!" Emmett says.

"Emmett believed in Santa Claus until he was thirteen!" Edward shoots back, keeping a glare on Emmett. Emmett just shrugs.

"I did. And I sucked my thumb to fall asleep until I was six. I couldn't tie my shoes right until seven years old. I had to take the ACT's three times just to get a score that a college would accept. The only reason I'm even going to a good college is because they want me on their football team." Emmett tells me, ticking off each issue on his fingers.

"The reason I started playing piano is because in preschool the teachers said I lacked creativity." Edward adds on.

"Embarrassing, right?" Emmett says. I eye the both of them, unsure of what they're trying to do. "But it's fine because we're family. We're brothers."

"Yeah." Edward agrees with a nod.

"Come on, let's hurry up and get those lights up." Emmett tells us and pats my shoulder. He and Edward turn around and go to their bedrooms, and I slip into mine.

Carlisle hears my door shut and it makes him wake up. He jumps a little, and looks around the room like he's shocked that he's here. It takes him a moment to gain his bearings.

"Oh, Jasper." He says as he stretches his arms. "Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to hog your bed."

"It's okay." I tell him. He grabs his crutches and awkwardly uses them to get to his feet. "I slept well. Did you?"

"I slept alright. Did you wake up a lot? Last I remember was around eleven o'clock."

I shake my head no. After eleven, I slept pretty well.

"Good. What's Esme up to?"

"Decorating for Christmas."

"Oh so the madness has begun?" He says with a chuckle. I smile and nod, but my smile quickly fads.

"Am I in trouble?" I ask. "For yesterday?"

He sighs and hobbles over to me. He grabs my shoulder, leans one crutch against my dresser and pulls me into a tight hug with his free arm. I hug him back.

"Don't worry about punishment, Jasper. Next time just find a way to let someone know that you need a break or need help." He tells me before pulling away. He grabs his crutch again. "I know you and Rose have always taken care of each other, but that's what Esme and I are here for. Let us help you."

I nod again.

"And don't worry about being embarrassed in this family. No one cares if you're stuttering. Lord knows we have all embarrassed ourselves much worse than that plenty of times." Carlisle says as he leaves my room.

Suddenly, it clicks. That's what Edward and Emmett were doing.

* * *

"Aw, you were so cute!" Rosalie dotes over the photo album. We decorated all day, and Esme picked up a few pizzas for dinner. As soon as we were done eating, she pulled out the old photo albums like she promised and we have all been sitting at the dinner table flipping through the pages.

"I was totally rocking that Spider Man mask." Emmett chuckles. Carlisle leans forward to peer at the picture. He laughs.

"That was the first gathering at the hospital after we got guardianship of Emmett. We tried to bribe him to take it off, but he was stubborn." He laughs. I take a look at the picture. Emmett is dressed in black slacks, black shoes, and a baby blue button down shirt. His smile is the only part of his face that can be seen. The rest is covered by his mask.

"He had the whole hospital laughing." Esme says with a happy sigh.

"This is my favorite." Edward says, pointing to the picture below Emmett's Spider Man picture.

I can't help but bust out laughing at the picture. It's Carlisle at about fifteen years old in a school uniform. His blond hair is slicked back and long, almost touching his shoulder. The best part is the angry scowl on his face.

"You think that's funny?" Carlisle asks me with a smirk. I nod. "I was fourteen there. That's when I started going to the boarding school."

"You went to boarding school?" Rosalie asks. He nods.

"George and Dianna finally had enough of me." He scoffs. I raise a questioning brow.

"Who's George and Dianna?" Rose continues to question.

"Oh, man." Edward groans. Emmett throws his head back.

"You're going to get him start on his rant again," Emmett lifts his head and grins at Carlisle. "Go ahead, Pops. Let them hear it."

"It's not a rant." Carlisle defends himself. Esme shakes her head.

"Honey, it most definitely is a rant."

"George and Dianna adopted me when I was ten years old." Carlisle says, ignoring everyone's lighthearted moans and groans about his so-called rant. "George was a senator. They were all about their image, so the dark haired, green eyed couple knew that adopting a child that didn't fit into their genetic mold would make them look phenomenal. Of course, their racism prevented them from adopting anyone with a darker skin tone than them, so they settled for a blond haired, blue eyed boy and made sure that they plastered our faces all over every newspaper and news channel and magazine that would take the story. After that they hired a team of nannies to raise me. When the nannies quit, they kept me in my room, and once I hit the ninth grade, they sent me off."

"I didn't know you were adopted." Rosalie says.

"I wouldn't call it being adopted. More like financially provided for." Carlisle tries to sound nonchalant about it, but the agitation in his voice gives him away.

"Tell then why the nannies quit." Emmett smirks. Carlisle chuckles.

"I may have been a difficult child."

"Tell the truth." Esme says. "You were a brat."

"I wouldn't say a brat," Carlisle shrugs.

"I've heard the stories. You were a brat." Edward laughs.

"I want to hear the stories." Rosalie says.

"Tell them about the bay window." Emmett suggests.

"Oh, the bay window," Carlisle chuckles again, nervously this time. "We don't need to talk about the bay window."

"He threw a brink through the bay window." Emmett says.

"Four times!" Edward adds on. My jaw drops.

"Carlisle!" Rosalie gasps.

"It's not as bad as it sounds." He tries to defend himself. "They nannies quit, they left me home alone. So I might have thrown a brick through the bay window."

"And then they fixed it, and you did it a second time. Then they fixed it again, and you did it a third time. And they fixed it, and then you did it a fourth time." Emmett says.

"I was really hoping they would keep the plywood over it. It really took the fun out of busting it when it was always replaced within a day or two." Carlisle admits.

"What about when you were in high school? Wasn't there something about busting down the stall doors in the bathrooms?" Edward asks.

"They never had any proof that it was me who did that!" Carlisle points out. Esme puts her hand on his shoulder.

"You always tell the kids to tell the truth, even if it's not going to go in their favor." Esme says. Carlisle sighs.

"Okay, I did tear the stall doors off the hinges in the bathroom. It was just a rebellious stage."

Emmett and Edward laugh. Rose and I stare at him with our jaws dropped.

"That lasted until college?" Emmett asks skeptically. "That's more than a stage."

"Let's find some pictures of Edward." Carlisle says, reaching for the photo album. Emmett snatches it away from him with a wicked grin.

"I think you should tell Rose and Jasper more about your childhood." He says.

"You were just complaining that it was a rant a few moments ago! Besides, they don't want to hear about it." Carlisle tells him.

"I want to hear about it!" Rose says. I nod in agreement.

"M-me too." I say quietly.

When they hear me speak, everyone pauses and looks at me. Esme smiles. Emmett gives me little nod, as if to say good job. Rosalie squeezes me hand and Carlisle let's out a relieved sigh. Edward stares at me. I stare back for a second or two before dropping my gaze. Out of everyone here, I think Edward will be the hardest to talk to. Between his staring and trying to finish my sentences, he makes it difficult to relax around him.

"Okay, then. What do you want to know about?" Carlisle asks.

"Tell them about the sit in." Edward suggests.

"The sit in?" Carlisle laughs. "I'm still a little bitter that I can't put that on my resume. The school I went to only allowed the students who were seventeen or older to leave campus for lunch. My friends and I organized a sit in to protest the rule. After the second class period of the day, the entire student body refused to leave there desks."

"Did it work?" Rose asks. Carlisle sighs.

"Somewhat. The rule did get changed so any student who cleared a moral test and had teacher references could leave campus for lunch. Needless to say, not one of the teachers would give me a reference."

"And don't forget about when you broke into the bookstore." Edward says.

"Who told you all of this?" Carlisle asks.

"Dianna."

"Of course she did." Carlisle smirks and rolls his eyes. "But the bookstore incident is another one that they couldn't pin me for. And to be fair, it wasn't breaking in. The janitor gave me the keys. My friends and I didn't even take anything. We just dug through the next semester's books."

"You were a bad kid!" Rosalie exclaims. "I never would have guessed that. How did you get into college with all those incidents on your record?"

"Because I was top of my class. I held a 4.0 all throughout middle and high school." Carlisle explains. "George made some considerable donations to the school, and my grades were good for the school's reputation so my disciplinary record was 'lost'."

"That's insane. I never would have thought you would have been a bad kid." Rose says again.

"It's definitely not my proudest moments. Life definitely got better after high school graduation." He tells us, then laughs. "I guess it says a lot that my college is always asking me to come speak, but my high school has never once contacted me."

Carlisle continues to tell us about more trouble that you got him in school. My phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out just enough to see the message.

 _Hey Jazz. How are you doing? I haven't spoken to you in a while_.

I shove it back in my pocket before anyone else notices that I'm distracted. Ever since I made the promise to Rose about not contacting our Dad, I really don't know what I'm supposed to be doing about him I don't want to upset Rose again, but a part of me still wants to talk to him. I don't know. I wish I knew what to do. But instead of worrying about it, I sit with the rest of the family and we listen to Carlisle's mischievous past.

* * *

I stare up at the ceiling. I can't sleep. My eyes are heavy and my body is tired, but I've already woke myself up twice. I slept so well last night. Why can't I get that again?

Actually, I know exactly why.

I grab my phone, my pillow, and my comforter. I go to my door and open it just enough to poke my head through and peer down the hall. Even though they obviously don't care about sharing embarrassing moments, I don't want Edward and Emmett to know what I'm going to do.

With my arms full of my things, I leave my room, tip-toe down the stairs, head to Esme and Carlisle's room, and gently knock on the door. I hold my ear next to it, but can't hear any movement. I knock a little harder. Still nothing. I grab the door knob and turn it ever so slowly. I push the door open and slide it. It's dark, but I can make out the outline of Carlisle and Esme. Carlisle is on the side of the bed closest to the door. I creep over and pat his shoulder.

"Carlisle, wake up." I murmur. He doesn't wake up right away, so I give his shoulder a little shake. "Carlisle, I need to ask you something."

"Who is it?" Esme's tired voice peeps.

"Jasper." I say.

"What do you need honey?" She asks. I shake Carlisle's shoulder as I speak to her.

"Can I sleep in here?"

"What?"

"Can I sleep in here?" I repeat.

"What?" Carlisle groans as he finally responds to me shaking him.

"Can I sleep in here?" I ask.

"What? Jasper, no." He murmurs. "Go to bed."

"I can't sleep." I tell him.

"Go to bed." He repeats with a yawn.

"I can't sleep."

"Just let him sleep in here," Esme sighs. "We all need some sleep."

"Ugh. Fine." Carlisle reluctantly agrees. I smile.

"Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, sweetheart." Esme tells me.

Carlisle doesn't respond to me, so I assume he's already sleeping again. I toss my pillow on the ground, right by the foot of their bed. The floor is definitely less comfortable than my bed, but the emotional comfort is worth so much more than my physical comfort.

 **Please review!**


	27. Chapter 27

I wipe the steam from the mirror with my towel, and lean in to get a good look at myself. The dark circles that use to linger under my eyes are gone now. I've been sleeping much better ever since I've started staying in Carlisle and Esme's room. Carlisle isn't too fond of it, though. He says every morning that I'm not to come back into his room again to sleep. Esme doesn't seem too bothered with it. It's really no problem at all when I sleep in there. I don't disrupt Carlisle and Esme with my screaming, and everyone gets to sleep.

Well, there actually is _one_ problem. I rub the big knot on my head. Two nights ago Carlisle got up to use the bathroom and accidentally knocked me in the head with his crutches.

"Jasper!" Esme's yelling makes me jump. I grab my sweatpants, pull them on, and run to the lower level of the house. I know exactly why she's calling for me.

Esme is in the living room prying her wooden Santa figure from Pongo's mouth. He wags his tail and pulls back against Esme, but she's finally able to snatch it from him.

"No chewing!" She scolds him, pointing the poor, chewed up Santa at him.

"Pongo!" I call. He spins around and rushes me. He jumps to put us front paws on me, and when I pat my chest, he jumps even higher so I can hold him in my arms. I shift him around so I'm cradling him like a baby. We both quickly learned that I'm the key to keeping Carlisle and Esme from getting to angry with him.

"I thought you were working with him on chewing." Esme says. I nod. "This is why he needs to be crate trained. He can't be left alone without chewing everything!"

"Be a good boy, Pongo." I whisper to him. His tail wags and he stretches up to pick my face.

"You are still dripping wet, Jasper. His hair is going to stick all over you!" Esme sighs. I duck my head a little and look at her with the most sorrowful eyes I can muster.

"Mom!" Edward yells as he stomps down the stairs. "I can't find my earbuds!"

"Where did you last remember have them?" Esme asks, her exasperated attitude turning from me to Edward.

"On the coffee table. I've looked everywhere and I can't find them!" He glares at Pongo. "I bet that mutt ate them!"

"No he didn't!" I say quickly.

"Oh yeah? Then where are they?" Edward challenges.

They're actually in my treasure drawer. Edward did leave them on the coffee table, and they just "happened" to fall into my pocket and then end up in my drawer. I don't tell anyone this, though. Instead, I just shrug.

"Edward, they have to be here somewhere. Just keep looking." Esme says. "And Jasper, if you're leaving that dog unattended, you need to put him in his crate. He's been tearing up the house since he got here."

I can't really argue against that. Pongo has been home for four days now, and so far he has chewed up two shoes (not from the same pair), the legs of the kitchen chairs, the mail, a magazine, a pair of Rosalie's jeans, Esme's purse, the wheels on Carlisle's wheelchair, and now Santa. I guess he's taking the fall for me over Edward's earbuds, too. I'm trying to get him to stop, but he has a lot of learning to do.

I set him down and go to the whicker box that holds all of his toys next to his crate against the living room wall. Esme must have just picked them all up, because he usually has them scattered all over the living room. I grab a big knotted rope and Pongo instantly knows it's time to play. He lunges forward to grab one end and pulls.

He's a very playful dog. He likes to chase after balls and frisbees. Tug of war always gets him revved up. Even when no one is available to play with him, he will grab a toy or anything left in his reach and fling it around and pounce on it. We're stuck playing inside for now, though. There has been at least four inches of snow on the ground at all times for the past week. Pongo loves rolling in the snow, so when he comes back in the house, he brings it in with him.

Esme is about to lose her mind because of him. Even though it's not his heavy shedding season, Pongo leaves a little hair everywhere he goes. He also likes to jump on the couch, which Esme and Carlisle have strictly forbid. They don't want him on any furniture, including our beds. He keeps jumping in front of Carlisle, too. When Carlisle is in the wheelchair, Pongo likes to bite at the wheels, and when he has his crutches, Pongo tries to jump on him. One of these days Pongo is going to knock Carlisle down.

"Are you sure you want to keep that thing?" Esme asks me. She watches as Pongo yanks my arms around for the rope toy. I smile and nod.

She watches us a little more and sighs. A smile tugs at her mouth, but she tries to hid it. She knows Pongo is good for me.

* * *

"He'll be okay, Jasper." Carlisle promises me. I shake my head no. Pongo whines at me from in his crate. "He'll stop once he realizes everyone is settled down for the night.

"Why can't he sleep on the floor with me?" I ask.

"He is not going in my bedroom. And neither are you, Jasper Lee." He says.

"I sleep better, though."

"But you are sixteen years old. Legally, you are a foster child, which means the rules are a little different." He tells me. "You are too old to be sleeping in our bedroom. If the adoption agency found out about that, they could pull you from our home and put a stop on the adoption."

"Why?"

"Because it's not appropriate."

"But you stayed in my bedroom."

"The only reason I stayed in your bedroom is because you were having such a rough evening and you were continuously screaming in your sleep. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. That was my mistake." He says. "But this cannot continue. You have to sleep in your own bedroom."

"No one will know." I point out. "Rose doesn't even know. If I come in after everyone is asleep and leave before they wake up-"

"No, Jasper." Carlisle tells me firmly. "It isn't worth the consequences that could follow. I'm not doing anything that could cause us to lose you."

I cross my arms over my chest and huff. This puts me at a crossroad. I don't want to be taken from here, but seriously, how would anyone find out?

"Goodnight, Jasper." Carlisle says with a softer tone and a pat on my shoulder.

He hobbled off to bed. I sigh I guess I don't really have a choice.

I go to my bedroom and try to fall asleep, but I can't. I download a few games on my phone and play those, hoping that I will just get so tired that my body will just fall asleep on its own. I have to go to school tomorrow, too. I really need some sleep.

One hour turns to two, and two hours turns to three. Carlisle's voice rattles around my brain. *I'm not doing anything that could cause us to lose you.* He seemed pretty serious about it, too.

I get up anyways and grab my pillow, blanket and phone. I'm not going to Esme and Carlisle's room, though. Instead I go down the hall to Rosalie's bedroom. I sneak in as quietly as I can and shake her shoulder. It doesn't take much to get her to wake up.

"What?" She murmurs with a sleepy drawl.

"I can't sleep."

That's all I have to say. She moans about it, but she scoots over to the other side of her bed so I can lay down. We do it like we always do, her feet by my head and my feet by hers. It doesn't take long for me to relax enough to fall asleep.

 **Hi readers! I know this chapter isn't super exciting or anything like that, but I whipped it out real quick so I can start to work on the next chapter that I'm really excited about! Big issues will be coming up in the next chapter, and I think you will really like it. It may take me a while to write it, but I'm going to work on it as often as possible. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	28. Chapter 28

"Make sure you watch how much you're spending." Carlisle tells me as he counts out bills in front of Emmett and I. Pongo lays at my feet, worn out from playing in the garage. If Carlisle still had the Mercedes, Pongo and I would have never been allowed to go in there to play. It works perfectly, though. Pongo gets to run around in circles and I can throw him tennis balls and wear him out. Esme will be thankful for it, too, because Emmett and I are going Christmas shopping today and Pongo is so tired he will probably just fall asleep in his crate. "Make sure to get gifts for everyone. You have about thirty dollars per person."

"Dad, we know." Emmett promises. "Just give him the cash and let us go."

"Do not lose this, Jasper." He tells me as he pushes the stack of $180 towards me. He wrinkles his brow. "Do you have a wallet?"

I reach in my back pocket and pull out an old Velcro wallet with the Tasmanian devil on it. Emmett snickers at it, and Carlisle shakes his head.

"Come with me, buddy." He tells me, and rolls towards his bedroom. I follow right behind him, Pongo stays right next to me, and we go to his closet. He heads straight for a stack of drawers. "You need a man's wallet, not a boy's wallet."

He pulls open the drawer and backs out of my way. There are wallets, watches, rings, all kinds of little odds and ends.

"Pick out a wallet." He tells me. My eyes instantly fall on a black bifold wallet. I open it up and run my finger over all the slots for cards. There's a clear slot where you would put a license, but instead, it's a picture of Carlisle and Esme on their wedding day. Esme has a simple white dress on. The top half has some simple lace along the neckline. Carlisle's wearing a grey suit with a light blue vest and tie. They're standing in front of a large tree covered in tons of white lights. Carlisle is dipping Esme, one hand on her hip and one hand wrapped around her back, and is kissing her. She has a bouquet in one hand and the other is draped around Carlisle's shoulders.

"Can I keep this?" I ask, holding it out for Carlisle to see. He smiles at the picture.

"Sure, buddy."

We leave the bedroom and return to the office. Emmett dramatically rolls his eyes as if he's been waiting forever. I grab the money and my ID from the old wallet and put it in my new wallet. Carlisle tells us to have fun shopping, and we leave the room. I point to Pongo's crate, but he doesn't go in like he's supposed to.

"Crate, Pongo." I say. He just stairs at me. I sigh, take his collar, and lead him over to the crate. Once he's locked it, he lays down and I drop a treat in front of him.

"Seriously, Jasper, let's go!" Emmett calls. I sigh, say goodbye to Pongo, and hurry to the door before Emmett leaves me here.

"What store do you want to hit first?" Emmett asks me as we weave through the crowded mall. I shrug, but Emmett is leading the way and can't see it.

There's only a week until Christmas. I should have known that the mall would be this packed, but I didn't even think about it. I try not to think about how crowded I am or how people keep bumping into me. Instead, I focus on the back of Emmett's head and keeping up with him. I can't wait for Pongo to be ready to come out with me in public.

Emmett cuts through the crowd and slides into a store front. I follow him in, thankful to be out of the big crowd. The store is pretty busy, but not packed like the aisles through the mall are.

"Look," Emmett points towards a big cardboard sign at the entry way. It reads: All tee-shirts, 2 for $35. "If you want to get Rosalie some shirts I'll spot you the extra five bucks and the tax."

I nod. Sounds good to me.

We wonder through the store. Emmett and I dig through sale racks and find a few things in Rosalie's size. Emmett finds a black sweatshirt with little red roses printed on it. I find two tee shirts, one with blue stripes and another with the phrase "messy hair don't care" printed on it. I give Emmet the shirts and thirty dollars, and he takes it up to the register. I wonder around the store as he waits in line. I go to the men's section where there's less people. They have wallets on sale too, but I like the one Carlisle gave me better. A little farther down is a rack full of men's socks, boxers and ties. I wonder down that way, grabbing a few different articles to feel the texture of the material.

Carlisle has plenty of ties, and he buys me all of my socks and underwear, so there's no reason for me to take anything. It's strange, though. I feel a twinge in my stomach. I look over my shoulder. No one is watching me.

I take a tie off of the rack. It's soft, made from cotton. The design is so ugly, though. I'm no fashionista, but even I know the red and green checkered tie with little pictures of Santa Claus in the boxes is tacky. My fingers seem to work on their own, though. As I look over the bad design, my fingers go up to the little hanger it's attached to. It doesn't take much effort to snap the thin plastic barb that holds the tie to the hanger. I drop the hanger, and reach for other tie with my left hand as I use my right hand to push the tie into my pants. Once it's completely hidden, I turn around and wonder to another part of the store. I spot a mirror handing on the wall and pause by it. Other than my junk looking a little bugger, it's not obvious that I've hid it.

"Ready, bro?" Emmett asks as he strolls towards me. I nod and we head back out.

We go back into the madness of the main aisle. I keep close to Emmett so we don't get separated, and we duck into another store. It's an entertainment store.

"This is Edward's favorite store. I always get his gifts from here." Emmett tells me.

There's so many different things in this store. Everything from CD's and DVD's to posters and games and sheet music. There's little nicknacks from different movies and TV shows. Emmett goes right over to the CD's while I wonder the perimeter of the store. My fingers twitch and tap against my leg. I scan every item I see, debating on if it would be a good gift for Edward, but I can't focus well.

There are little plush characters hanging on a keychain. They're small, only about two inches long. I grab three and hold them on my index finger by the round ring. I glance down at the bag in my hand from the last store. All I have to do is just barely tilt my finger downward to let the first keychain fall right into my bag. Before the other two can fall in, I look closely at the little characters before putting them back on the rack.

No one will ever know.

I keep looking around. Half of my attention is on looking for a gift for Edward, and half is used to spot for something I can sneak away.

I find a big box full of mind games in it. It has twelve metal puzzles where two pieces are connected and you have to find a way to disconnect them. I'm sure Edward will like this, so I tuck it under my arm and wonder towards Emmett. He has three CD's in his hand.

"You find something for him?" Emmett asks. I nod and show him the box of mind games. "He'll love that. He's such a nerd."

Emmett takes the CD's towards the register, but pauses at a display of earbuds. He mentions how Edward has been on a rampage about his missing earbuds and grabs a package off of the rack.

We hurry to the next store- a greeting card store with all kinds of feel-good gifts. Coffee mugs, wooden signs, necklaces. There's all kinds of cheesy little gifts. Emmett and I split up again. There are wooden figures, much like the Santa Pongo chewed up. Almost all of them are figures of adults with kids. A man and a woman holding a baby, a man with a little boy on his shoulders, a little girl and a man dancing. There's one that really catches my eye. It's a man and woman standing next to each other and two young blond kids, a boy and a girl, standing in front of them. I grab the figure and look at the price tag on the bottom. $49.99 for it. I carefully set it back down and go to a different shelf.

On a black velvet stand is a display of necklaces. They're all different shapes and styles. I find one that is a silver heart with the word "Mom" written inside. I look at the little tag on the beaded chain. $24.99. That's more doable. I take it off the display and hold it in the palm of my hand. Before leaving that shelf, though, I grab one more necklace. It's another silver one, but this one is an oval and has "Godmother" etched into the charm. I hold that one in my other hand, and as I walk away, I slide it into my pocket.

There's a whole wall full of cups. Some are overly decorated wine classes, some have collectible characters on them. Most are pretty girly, but I find a white travel coffee mug with "World's greatest father" printed on it in big, bold letters. It will be perfect for when Carlisle goes back to work, and the sign says it's on sale for $14.99, to I take it off the shelf.

I glance around the store, eyeing the walls and the ceiling. Unlike the other stores, this one doesn't have a single camera.

I don't even have to think about what I'm doing. My hands seem to work separately from my brain as they grab little things to stuff in my bag. A kid's birthday card, a tiny notebook, a few rubber bracelets, a set of plastic coasters. It's so easy when cameras aren't watching.

"Hey, Jasper! What do you think about this?"

Emmett's voice pulls my attention away from my treasures. He walks over to me and hands me a business card. On the front is an advertisement for twenty percent off a locket-type necklace when you buy three charms to go inside of it.

"There's a case over there that has all of the charms. I don't know which Mom would like best. Come help me pick."

I follow him across the store to a wooden table-like case with glass over it. It has multiple tiny square cubicles in it that hold all kinds of little charms that are smaller than the nail on my little finger.

"I'm torn between getting everyone's birthstones, or one of the shaped charms. There's the rose for Rosalie, the paw print for you and Pongo, the music note for Edward, the stethoscope for Dad." Emmett says, pointing to the corresponding cubicle for the charm he is describing. "That would be more personable, but birthstones would be classier. What's December's birthstone?"

I point to the turquoise charms.

"What do you think? Shapes or birthstones?"

I tap the glass over the birthstone section.

"Good choice. I'll get the cashier to open the case."

Emmett finds a free cashier who comes to open the case. He picks out all the birthstone colors for our family and a heart shaped locket. It's on a silver chain and the frame of the heart is the same silver with small rhinestones along it, and a clear center so the charms can be seen. The cashier pops the heart open and places the charms in and puts it in a little velvet bag. Emmett and I head to the registers, pay for what's in our hands, and head back out into the aisles.

Emmett and I hit up a book store, another woman's clothing store, a fancy men's accessories store, and a hobby store. I buy Alice a pink silk shirt, but pocket a plastic bookmark, a set of mini gel pens, a cheap tie clip, a small bag of buttons, and a little box of chalk. Emmett doesn't expect a thing, and neither do any of the stores. It's so simple to hide things when you're already carrying bags from other stores. Just drop it in a bag and no one sees it. I hid the tie clip in my pocket, hidden behind my phone. It's so easy.

Emmett finally decides on a gift for Carlisle, a set of small picture frames for his office, and we finally get to go home.

I don't have much experience wrapping presents. Esme gave me a whole roll of shimmery silver paper that she swears will reflect the lights on the tree beautifully. I'm sure she's right, but I also hope she has more paper. Edward's gift was easy to wrap, but everyone else's was a struggle. I had to redo almost all of them.

"Here, Pongo." I say as I crumple up another patch of ruined paper. I toss it at him and he instantly pounces on it. He has six other balls of paper around him that he's been playing with. I unroll more paper, cut a piece, and try to figure out how I'm supposed to wrap a travel mug when I hear a knock on the door. Pongo barks at the door, and I quickly push the presents under my bed. "One second!"

"Jasper, we need to talk." Carlisle's stern voice says. "Now."

Shit. He only sounds like that when someone is in trouble. I run through all the possibilities of what I could have done wrong. No one has been fighting or arguing and I've followed all the rules. Maybe something happened to some of the other family members. I jump up and hurry to the door.

Carlisle is standing in the hallway, a angry scowl on his face and his brows scrunched together. I wish that was the only scary thing in the hallway, though.

Bella's father, Chief Charlie Swan, stands next to Carlisle in full uniform, complete with handcuffs and a gun on his waist. He crosses his arms over his chest.

My mind starts racing. Why would he be here? Esme met a friend for dinner and coffee this afternoon. Did something happen to her? Maybe Charlie caught Edward and Bella screwing around with each other and they want to know if I know anything about it. Pongo charges over to me and starts nudging my hand with his nose until I pet his head.

"What did you take from the mall?" Carlisle asks me.

Oh shit.

I try to hide any sign of guilt, but I can't help but panic a little. My eyes grow wide and I can feel my cheeks turning red. I shake my head no.

"Don't lie to me, Jasper." Carlisle warns.

"An employee saw you stuffing products into a bag from another store." Charlie explains. "They followed you and Emmett to the parking lot to get a vehicle description."

"You told us you wouldn't steal anymore." Carlisle sighs. "What did you do with the products?"

I don't respond. There isn't anything I can say or do to really get out of this.

"Do you realize you could be sent to Boysville for this? If you get sent to Boysville then that could jeopardize your adoption!" Carlisle says sharply.

That really gets me panicking. My heart rate races, my breathing gets shallower. I can feel my throats getting tight. I didn't think anyone saw me. I looked for cameras and employees. How did I get caught? I didn't realize it could ruin my adoption.

"If you hand over the items you took, I may be able to convince the store to not press charges." Charlie tells me.

"Show us what you too, Jasper." Carlisle demands.

I nod and walk over to my nightstand. My hands shake. Pongo stays right by my side. I open the drawer while keeping my back to the door but I can hear Carlisle and Charlie coming closer. I grab the tie, the bookmark, the gel pens, and the plush keychain. I lay them out on my bed for Carlisle and Charlie to see.

"Is that all?" Carlisle ask. I shake my head no, and grab the four rubber bracelets, the box of chalk, and the kid's birthday card and line them up with the rest of my treasures.

"Damn, boy," Charlie sighs. "How much did you take?"

I look at Carlisle. My mouth is so dry that my lips want to stick together. My tight throw feels even tighter. Carlisle nods towards the drawer.

"How much is in there?" He asks me.

I pull the drawer out as far is it can go. I can't believe I'm doing this. I've worked so hard at growing my treasures and not getting caught. I grab both sides of the drawer and give it a little shake until it comes out of the nightstand completely. Hesitating, I stare down into it at all the things I have. I never gave those glass figures to Rosie like I wanted to. I can't risk being put in juvie and screwing up my adoption.

"Jasper Lee," Carlisle says in a grave voice. I turn around and slowly set my drawer on my bed. Carlisle hobbled over to it as I sit next to my lined up ill-gotten goods. I lean forward with my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands and staring at the ground. Pongo lays on top of my feet. "Jasper, what the hell is this? Did you take all of this?"

I pierce my lips together. I don't want to tell him.

"Did you take all of this?" He repeats. "Answer me, son."

I reluctantly nod.

"Oh my god." Carlisle sighs. I keep my head ducked down. Either Carlisle or Charlie start rustling through my things.

"It was the craft store that called. This isn't all from the craft store." Charlie murmurs.

"This is from the pharmacy," Carlisle says. "And these are from the hospital. Jasper, did you steal from hospital gift shop?"

I force another nod without looking at him.

"What do you have to do about this?" Carlisle asks Charlie. The disappointment in his voice is undeniable.

"Should we talk in the hall?" Charlie suggests.

"Yes, of course."

They leave my room, shutting the door behind them. I lift my head and look over at all the things I've collected. Charlie and Carlisle have laid out even more things on my bed. I grab the drawer. It's still over halfway full. There are things from almost all the stores I've gone to. There's Emmett's coffee reward card, Edward's headphones, the little nameplate I took from Carlisle's office.

I don't want to go to Boysville. It is the worst place for someone like me. When I was thirteen they sent me to Boysville and Rosalie to a girls group home for a week because there wasn't a foster home ready for us. Rosalie got the better end of the deal at a group home. At least there she got her own bedroom and got to stay in a house. Boysville is a juvenile delinquent center, but when they can't find a home for foster kids, they dump us there. I had to stay in a room with a boy who was arrested for beating his little sister to the point that she had to be in the hospital. They call them rooms, but it's a cell. There aren't any windows except for on the big metal door, and the concrete block walls are painted this dull, ugly beige. We had to go to group therapy together, eat together, go outside in the gated yard with barbed wire along the top of the fence together. Needless to say, it is not a good place for a kid who doesn't talk.

I can't go back.

My door opens and I quickly set the drawer back down. Charlie walks a beeline towards me. Carlisle takes a set to the side, staying close to the wall.

"Jasper, stand up, turn around, and put your hands behind your back." Charlie tells me. He grabs his handcuffs from his side.

My jaw drops. I look over at Carlisle. He keeps his jaw set, but won't look me in the eye. I try to blink back tears, but it isn't working. With one last pleading look to Carlisle, I do what Charlie told me. He holds my arms and cuffs my wrists.

"Let's go." Charlie says. He grabs my elbow and walks with me to the door. Pongo whines as he walks next to me. Carlisle grabs his collar and tries to hold him in the room, but Pongo keeps trying to pull away from him.

"Hey, someone help me with this damn dog!" Carlisle calls down the hall. I keep walking, but look over my shoulder. Rosalie's bedroom door flings open and she comes out in sweatpants and a tee shirt. The moment she sees me she starts to panic. She runs over to Carlisle.

"What's going on, Carlisle? Where is he taking Jasper?" She asks, her voice spewing out rapidly. "He can't go back to Boysville!"

"Rose, relax," Carlisle sighs. "Grab this dog. Keep him in Jasper's room."

"Jasper!" Rosalie calls for me. She tries to rush towards me, but Carlisle sticks his crutch out to stop her.

"Rosalie Lillian, listen to me." He says firmly. "Lock the dog in his room and I will explain it all."

"You can't let this happen!" Rosalie cries.

"Rosalie!" Carlisle says so loudly it's borderline yelling. It catches Rose's attention, though. "Relax. Get the dog in the room and I'll explain everything."

She gives me one more look and I mouth "I'm okay" to her. She nods, grabs Pongo and leads him back to my room.

"Watch your step." Charlie tells me as we reach the stairs. I look down at me feet as we head to the lower. Emmett and Edward are lounging on the living room couch. They stare at me with wide eyes, neither one really knowing what to do. I turn my head so they don't see the tears that are starting to fall.

Charlie doesn't even let me stop to put my shoes on. When we get to the door, I reach my leg out to slide my shoes over to me so I could put them on as well as I could without my hands, but Charlie doesn't wait and just yanks me outside. I can hear Emmett calling for Carlisle before the door closes behind us. Charlie drags me through the snow to the patrol car waiting in the driveway. My socks and the bottom of my jeans are soaked from the snow. Charlie opens the back seat and pushes my head down as I get in. He slams the door shut, gets in the front seat, and starts the car. I lean my head back and close my eyes. My tears flow down my cheeks. The car revs to life, and I hear Charlie get out of the car and slam his door. I open my eyes again to watch him go back to the house.

I don't even try to hide my tears now. I just let them flow like water from a faucet. I screwed everything up. Rose and I have it made here, and now I've ruined it. Carlisle and Esme wanted us, they wanted me.

 _Jeopardize your adoption_. Carlisle's words rattle around my brain. Will they still adopt Rose? Where will I go? Hopefully they keep me close so I can still see Rosalie and the Cullen's and Alice. Oh god, Alice. What will she think of me now?

No one likes a boy who can't talk and is dependent on his sister, but somehow I got lucky at this home. The whole family accepted me. Alice accepted me. But now with another black mark on my record, I probably won't find that again.

My phone vibrates in my pocket three times to tell me there's a text message. It could be my dad, or maybe Rose or Emmett or Edward asking what's going on, or maybe Alice. My hands are still cuffed behind my back so I can't check.

A car pulls into the driveway. I look over my shoulder and see Esme's car coming towards the house. She slowly passes the cop car, and when she sees me in the back, her jaw drops. Once the car is parked in the garage, she gets out and comes over to me. She doesn't try to open the door, but instead talks through the window.

"Jasper, what's going on?" She questions me. My lip quivers as I look into her concerned eyes. I look away. The disappointment on her face is too much to handle.

It only takes a second for Esme to leave the car and hustle to the door. I do my best to wipe my tears off my cheek with my shoulder, but they're quickly replaced. I just ruined everything. I never thought the end of my stay with the Cullen's would be crying like a baby in the back of a police car with cold, wet socks and my hands cuffed behind my back.

It's been about twenty or thirty minutes that I've been sitting in this car. The heat is turned up, but my toes are still cold. I'm sure my cheeks are red and stained from crying, but I really don't care. How am I not supposed to cry in a situation like this? I keep my head down and stare at my feet. I curl my toes over and over again, hoping the movement will help warm me up.

It isn't the first time I've been in the back of a cop car. I rode in one to Boysville, and they dropped me off at our new foster home in one. It is the first time being back here for being in trouble, though.

"Get out, Cullen."

Charlie's voice startles me, and is paired with him yanking the car door open. I furrow my brow and look up at him. Get out? And Cullen?

Legally, I'm still a Whitlock. But the Cullen name has a really nice ring to it.

"Are you gonna get out or am I going to have to take you to the station?" Charlie grumbles.

He doesn't have to ask me twice. I fling my legs out of the car. The light layer of snow on the driveway is freezing cold on the soles of my feet, but is so much better than in the back of a cop car. Charlie grabs me by the elbow again, slams the door behind me, and guides me back to the house.

Emmett, Edward, and Rosalie are all sitting in the living room when Charlie walks me to the stairs. Pongo is locked in his crate, whining. Edward doesn't look at me, but Rosalie and Emmett do. Rosie let's out a big sigh of relief. Emmett stares at me. He must have been told that I took the coffee shop reward card from his wallet. I look away from him and down at the stairs. I leave behind a wet footprint with every step I take on the white carpet. Esme won't be happy about that.

Charlie takes me back to my bedroom. Esme and Carlisle are both there. I duck my head and look at them through my eyelashes, trying to look as remorseful as possible. Esme crosses her hands over her chest and turns her attention to all the items laid out on my bed. Everything from my drawer is neatly arranged in a big square. Charlie yanks on my shoulder so I'm facing the bedroom wall.

"I'm going to take these cuffs off and you're going to place your hands on the wall and spread your legs shoulder length apart." Charlie instructs gruffly as he stands behind me. It only takes a second for the cuffs to come off. I instantly pull my hands back in front of me and rub my wrists.

"On the wall, now!" Charlie yells. I jolt a little, and instantly smack my palms against the wall and spread my legs out just like he instructed. "Do you have any stolen items on you?"

I shake my head no. Charlie pats me down like a criminal, feeling my arms, sides, and legs. Once he's done, he grabs my arm again and leads me to where Esme and Carlisle are standing near my bed.

"Shoplifting can range from a misdemeanor to a felony. At sixteen you can be tried as an adult and can face a maximum of five years in jail and over ten thousand dollars' worth of fines." Charlie says. "Are you prepared to face that?"

I shake my head no, tears still falling.

"Are you ready to say goodbye to your parents and spend the next five years in jail?"

I shake my head no again. My fingers shake and my throat feels like there's a hand clenching it.

"Listen up, boy," Charlie says. He cups his hand under my chin and forces me to look him in the eye. When I try to pull away, he just tightens his grip. My eyes get wide and I try to gulp down a big lump in my throat. "The Cullen's don't raise criminals. You're damn lucky to have parents who are so highly respected. They are the only ones keeping you from jail tonight. And you can forget about Boysville. You're sixteen. You'll be going to jail for a charge that big. Understand?"

I nod furiously. He drops his hand from my chin and gives me one last mean look.

"Straighten up, Cullen." Charlie tells me before turning around and leaving my room. He closes the door behind him and suddenly I'm left alone with something that isn't nearly as scary as the thought of being sent away, but still terrifying in its own way.

I'm left alone with Carlisle and Esme and the saddest, angriest, most disappointed looks I've ever seen. Esme sighs heavily.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, Jasper." Esme tells me. Her voice is firm. "You have no idea how terrifying it is to see your child in a cop car."

"What is the meaning behind all of this?" Carlisle asks, gesturing to all the things on my bed. The things I took from the mall are gone. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

I just look down at my feet.

"Get out of those wet socks before you get a cold." Esme tells me. I do as she says and toss them into my hamper.

"Tell me about these, Jasper." Carlisle orders. I keep my head down.

"Jasper, come here." Esme says. Her tone is a little calmer this time. She pulls me into a hug and squeezes me tightly.

I wrap my arms around her and hold her just as tightly.

"I thought I was being taken away." I admit in a quiet voice.

"You're not going anywhere tonight, buddy." Carlisle promises.

Esme pulls away and kisses my forehead. She wipes my wet cheeks with her thumb, but she puts on a firm face.

"Sit, young man. We need to talk about this."

I drop my head again and plop down on a clear spot on my bed. From the look on Carlisle's face, I know I'm in for lecture of a lifetime.

Rosalie and I have been in almost every kind of foster homes. We've been ignored and beat, and we've been carefully watched and hounded on. One home we were in for about two months was run by the father and his adult son. The mother didn't do any of the punishing. She just cooked and cleaned. Whenever we acted out, either the father or the son would give us a smack or two on the back of our heads, our faces, our hands, or our butts. There wasn't any talking about bad behavior or why it was wrong or time outs or groundings. Just a few moments of discomfort. Rosie and I were nine when we were in that home, and I hated it. I got smacked a lot, and it use to make me so angry, but now I wish Carlisle would just smack me across the face and leave my punishment at that. Carlisle and Esme's lecture is long and boarder line torturous. The disappointment on their face kills me.

"And you stole from your own brothers? You violated the trust of the two boys who will always be there for you." Carlisle lectures. He's trying hard to keep his voice even and low, but it's obviously a struggle for him to keep from yelling at me. He grabs the little plaque from my bed. "You took this from my office. It is a privilege to be able to spend time in that office. A privilege you no longer have!"

"You know we buy you everything you need and plenty of things that you want." Esme says, taking over the talk. "Do you realize how much we just spent for that dog? You have absolutely no reason to be stealing anything!"

They've been going strong for about fifteen minutes now. At this rate I would have rather Carlisle just slap me once and call it a day instead of this talking to. I thought that since Esme stuck around for the lecture that it would be a good-cop-bad-cop type of situation, but I was wrong. It's all around bad cop. They really know how to lay the guilt on thick.

"What are we supposed to do with you, Jasper?" Carlisle sighs. "We obviously can't trust you!"

I wipe my teary eyes and fix them on Carlisle's slippers.

"You still gonna adopt me?" I whimper.

"What did you say? Repeat yourself, Jasper." Esme demands.

"Are you still gonna adopt me?" I ask again.

They both get very quiet. A few seconds pass before I lift my head and look at them. All of the anger has melted from their face. Carlisle's jaw relaxes and Esme's eyes return to their typical soft look. Esme pushes my treasures away from me and sits next to me. Carlisle hobbles over and does the same on my other side.

"Jasper Lee, we would never give you up, understand?" Esme asks. She wraps her arm around my shoulders. "You are a part of this family even when you do something wrong."

"This isn't a goodbye speech." Carlisle tells me. He puts his hand over Esme's. I can feel his fingertips just past hers. "This is simply an issue that needs to be addressed."

I give a slight nod. I gather enough courage to look them in the eye, but once I see Esme, I lose it all. Her eyes are welling up with tears now. Seeing her cry makes me cry even harder, which feels almost impossible. I'm shocked I have any tears left.

"I love you, Jazz." She says. "Nothing will change that."

"That's for both of us, buddy." Carlisle says.

"I love you guys, too." I murmur through sobs. Esme pulls me into a hug again.

"Jasper, what made you choose this stuff?" Carlisle asks slowly. I pull away from Esme and shrug. "If you ever want to earn our trust back, you need to answer our questions. Now tell me, what made you choose this stuff?"

"I dunno." I admit quietly.

"Jasper," Carlisle warns.

"I really don't know." I quickly defend myself.

"Do you like these items?"

"Yeah."

Carlisle looks over at all the things spread across my bed. He picks up Emmett's coffee reward card.

"You like this?" He asks, holding it up for me to see. I shrug.

Carlisle twirls the card between his fingers, staring intently at it. He sets it back down and pulls his cellphone out of his pocket.

"Carlisle, what are you doing?" Esme hisses at him. "Put your phone away!"

"Hang on." Carlisle tells her. He taps on the screen, and starts asking me all these questions. "Do these items offer you any monetary value?"

"I don't know what that means." I say.

"Are these items valuable? Can you get money from them?" He explains. I shake my head no. "Is it a reoccurring urge to steal that you cannot resist?"

I shrug.

"Do you feel tense before you steal?"

I initially want to say no, but I think back to the mall.

"I was tense today, but because of the crowds." I explain.

"What about the other times? I were you tense then?"

My mind wonders to the hospital gift shop, the pharmacy, and all the other stores.

"Yeah."

"Do you feel pleasure, relief, or gratification during the act of stealing?"

I nod, but Carlisle is staring at his phone screen.

"Yes." I say out loud. For the millionth time today, my throat tightens. What is he reading?

"Do you steal because you are angry or looking for revenge?"

"No."

"Carlisle, what is this about?" Esme asks.

Carlisle passes the phone over to Esme. Her face falls as she reads the screen. I lean over to take a look at it myself. Carlisle pats my arm, gaining my attention.

"Have you talked to your therapist about this?" He asks me. I shake my head no. "Why not?"

"I, I don't talk to my therapist." I say. Carlisle let's out a big, heavy sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I've been sending you there once a week since you've got here, and you haven't been talking to him?"

I shake my head no again.

"I don't like him." I whisper.

"Listen, you need to talk to someone about this. Let me make an appointment at my therapist. Will you talk to my therapist if I come with you?"

I shrug. I didn't know Carlisle had a therapist.

"Let's just try it, okay?" He compromises.

I don't really know if that is a good idea or not, so instead of answering, I peer back over at Carlisle's phone. In big blue letters at the top of the screen reads "Symptoms of Kleptomania".

"Do you think I'm a-"

"I'm not a psychologist, Jasper." He defends himself after cutting me off. He puts his arm around me, pulls me closer to him, and kisses my temple.

"Carlisle," Esme says. "We should talk."

"I agree. Jasper, you're grounded until further notice. You are to stay in your room for the rest of the night. Understand?"

I nod.

"Give me your phone." Carlisle orders and holds his hand out. I pierce my lips together, pull my phone out of my pocket and pray that he doesn't look through it. Esme packs all of my treasures in my drawer and she takes it with her once she and Carlisle leave my room. They shut the door firmly behind them, but I can hear them in the hallway.

"He shows all the symptoms, love." Carlisle says.

"My baby isn't a kleptomaniac." Esme defends me.

I can't hear the rest of their conversation, just their footsteps down the hallway.

I've been stuck upstairs all night. Esme brought me dinner up around six o'clock, and Rosalie snuck in for about ten minutes to talk to me before Esme came up and shooed her out. I could hear my dog barking all afternoon. It's weird. When I first got here, being all alone in my room was a good thing. Now, all I want is to go downstairs and be a part of the family.

Everyone else has gone to bed by now. I can tell who is in the hallway by their footsteps. Emmett stomps through like a heard of elephants, Rosalie's steps are light, and Edward's strides are faster than anyone else's. They have all gone to their bedrooms. I'm assuming it's about ten thirty or eleven. I can't sleep. I don't want to be in here anymore.

I debate how much trouble I would be in if I leave my room. If I were in trouble for back talking or not doing what I was told I wouldn't risk it, but I'm already in deep enough. I leave my bed, grab my pillow and blanket, and head downstairs.

All the lights are turned off on the lower level except for Carlisle and Esme's bedroom. Their door is shut and the light that beams out from under the door. I tiptoe over. Pongo must be sleeping because he isn't whining or barking anymore. As I get closer to their bedroom, I can hear Esme and Carlisle arguing.

"He just needs to be properly taught and it will stop. You are making this into a bigger deal than it is!" Esme huffs.

"Why are you so afraid of labels? He fits right in with the rest of us! Edward's depression, Emmett's ADHD, Rose's and Jasper's codependency, my anger issues, your anxiety. We all have labels in this house!" Carlisle damn near shouts back.

"You always want to bring that up! How many times have we talked about this? Emmett is not his ADHD, Edward is not his depression. They are not their labels so why do you insist on giving it to them?"

"How are they supposed to get help without a label, Esme!"

"Jasper has been through enough in his life. What do you think another label will do to him?"

"It won't do anything for him, but it will let us know how to help him! What do you think I do at the hospital? Not run tests? Not give a label? Just love the sickness away?"

"My kids aren't sick, Carlisle, and you know damn well a physical illness is different than what we're talking about! He already has the label of selective mutism. What do you think "kleptomaniac" is going to do for his self-esteem?"

I quickly knock on the door and they both go completely silent. A few seconds pass and I can hear Carlisle walking towards the door. He opens it up, and I have to squint from the light.

"Jasper," he says calmly. "What do you need?"

"Can I sleep in here?" I ask meekly. Carlisle turns to Esme.

"Of course you can, sweetie." Esme answers. Carlisle steps out of the doorway to let me in. Esme. Comes over, puts her hands on the side of my face and kisses my forehead. "We were just getting ready to go to sleep."

Esme turns to her dresser, grabs pajamas, and disappears into the master bathroom. I look over at Carlisle for more reassurance before making my bed on the floor.

"Just for tonight, son." He tells me. I nod.

Carlisle is already dressed for bed and settles down on his side of the bed. I put my pillow and blanket down before laying down myself.

"Dad?" I murmur.

"Yeah?"

"Charlie called me a Cullen."

"Of course he did. Just because it's not legal yet doesn't mean you're not a Cullen."

"I liked that." I admit. "And I like when you call me son."

"I like when you call me Dad."

Esme comes out of the bathroom, turns the lights out, wishes us goodnight, and climbs into bed. The tension rises once she comes back in the room. A few moments pass before I finally get the guts enough to try to fix it.

"Mom? Dad?" I say into the dark. "I'm sorry I mess up so much."


	29. Chapter 29

"How could we lose the salt shaker?" Carlisle frowns as he rummages through the kitchen cabinets.

"Your sodium is already high." Esme says back. "You don't need any salt!"

"My sodium is just fine, Esme."

"Sure it is." Esme says with a roll of her eyes.

"Seriously, where could it be?" Carlisle asks again.

"Better check Jasper's pockets." Edward murmurs. I shoot him a dirty look.

"Edward Mason!" Esme scolds him. Carlisle turns to face us.

"What did you say?" Carlisle asks him with a scowl. Edward doesn't answer. Instead, he glares at me.

"He said to check Jasper's pockets." Esme explains with a sigh. Carlisle sets his jaw and points towards the stairs.

"Go to your room! You're grounded for the rest of the night." Carlisle orders. Edward huffs and slams his hands on the table as he stands from his chair at the dinner table.

"Why am I being punished when he's the thief?" Edward asks angrily. The scowl on his face matches the scowl on Carlisle's. I want to retaliate, but I've been grounded to my room for three nights already and I don't want to have to go there again.

"I said I'm sorry." I whimper and look down at my lap while picking at my nails. It makes me look more like a victim and makes Edward look more like a bully.

"Yeah, right." Edward scoffs.

"Do you want to go for a week, Edward?" Carlisle asks.

Edward doesn't answer. Instead, he let's out another huff and stomps up the stairs. I lift my head to see Carlisle and Esme exchanging annoyed looks.

"I did tell him I was sorry." I tell them.

"I know you did, sweetheart." Esme sighs.

"Leave him alone!" Rosalie yells from the second floor. I turn in my seat at the table to look at the steps.

"Tell him to leave my stuff alone!" Edward yells back to Rose.

There's a big thump, followed by some more screaming. Carlisle let's out a heavy groan.

"You're going to have to deal with that." He says to Esme. "I can't keep going up and down those stairs with this damn cast."

Esme doesn't say anything to him. She just leaves the room and heads upstairs. I can't hear what is being said now, but I'm sure no one is happy. Carlisle keeps searching for the salt. After a few moments, Esme comes back downstairs.

"What happened?" Carlisle asks her.

"Edward made a snide remark to Rosalie, and she shoved him against the wall." Esme explains. "I sent her to her room."

"These kids are going to be the death of me." Carlisle mumbles under his breath.

"It was about me, wasn't it?" I ask quietly. Esme sighs.

"Don't fret over it, sweetheart." She tells me.

Esme and Carlisle finally come to the table to eat. Esme made a big bowl of Greek pasta salad. I put a big scoop on my plate, but after a few bites I realize that this is not something I like. I don't want to add any more tension to the house, though, so I just push the bowtie noodles around on my plate and only eat a few bites every so often. No one says anything. I wish Emmett was home. He always seems to know how to eliminate tension.

It's been three days since I got caught stealing. I've been grounded to my room, but they have let Pongo in with me. Carlisle and Esme said they let him stay with me because I haven't given them any attitude about being grounded, but I'm sure it's because he has been driving them crazy. I've been working with him that whole time, though, and now he knows the commands for sit, roll over, lay down, and spin.

That seems to be the only benefit to this. Esme and Carlisle have been fighting. Edward is livid with me. Rosalie has been on edge, ready to defend me at all costs. Emmett is taking it the best. Everyone is being extra cautious around me. Edward has started locking his bedroom door. Everything from the batteries in the kitchen drawer to the toilet paper in the bathrooms had been carefully watched and counted. I've already been approached by Esme asking if I knew where the kitchen sponge was. Turns out, Carlisle threw it away and forgot to buy a replacement. Everything is being put on me, though. I'm sure I'll be searched for the salt shaker, too. They won't find it on me, though. I stashed it away in my bathroom drawer.

I had to give back the personal things that I took and apologize. Although Emmett probably doesn't understand why I took his coffee card instead of money from his wallet, he appreciated that I never took anything of true value and quickly accepted my apology. Edward, on the other hand, was not so understanding. When I gave him back his earbuds, he blew up on me. He yelled a lot, but I just ducked my head and tried not to listen. Carlisle and Esme were with us as I apologized, and Carlisle told Edward to speak calmer. He did lower his voice but his attitude and tone were enough to make it clear that he's disgusted with me. Esme finally made him stop the when he asked if I was some type of "klepto" or something.

"Once you're done eating, you need to get ready for the appointment." Carlisle breaks the silence at the table. "It's at two o'clock."

I nod. I really don't want to talk to Carlisle's therapist, but it's one of the conditions of my punishment.

* * *

"He has been diagnosed with selective mutism before he came to our home. My wife and I recently got him a dog after doing some research about emotional support animals. It has helped him open the doors of communication to the rest of the family, but he still doesn't say much. The stealing issue was discovered shortly after he came to live with us. He was caught stealing at the local pharmacy and when we confronted him, he apologized and when I asked if it would happen again, he responded with no." Carlisle explains to the therapist as calm as can be. I sit next to him on the couch with my arms crossed over my chest and staring down at my knees. For the past twenty minutes, Carlisle has been doing all the talking. "We recently had an officer out to the house because a mall employee saw Jasper concealing stollen goods. When asked about it, he provided an entire drawer full of items that he has stollen. The majority of the items were from stores, but he has taken things from our family."

"Is that true, Jasper?" Dr. Thomas asks.

I don't respond.

"You can talk to him, son." Carlisle tells me. He puts his hand on my knee.

Dr. Thomas isn't like Mr. Buckson. Dr. Thomas dresses more casually than Mr. Buckson in just a button down shirt and nice jeans. His office is painted light blue with dark colored hardwood floors. He has a black leather couch where Carlisle and I sit and a matching armchair across from us where he sits. He has pictures of flowers on the wall.

"Has there been stressors in the home?" Dr. Thomas asks.

"There has. I was working heavy hours and it was causing strain on the entire family. My oldest boy had issues with deciding whether to stay in our home or go live with his father. After that was settled, the car accident happened. My wife and I have been arguing lately, and my youngest is taking the realization that Jasper stole from him extremely hard." Carlisle admits.

"How does this stress effect you, Jasper?" Dr. Thomas continues to pry. I don't respond.

"He wasn't thrilled about coming." Carlisle sighs.

"Well Jasper," Dr. Thomas leans forward in his chair. "I would love to talk to you."

I lean back against the backrest and look to the right, away from both Carlisle and Dr. Thomas.

"What breed is your dog?" He asks. He waits a few seconds before continuing. "I have a black lab named Rusty. Why don't you bring your dog in with you for our next session?"

I glance over at Carlisle, who nods.

"We can do that." Carlisle agrees.

"Okay, great. Let's schedule it then."

Carlisle and Dr. Thomas toss a few different dates and times before settling on an appointment the day before Christmas Eve. Carlisle and I stand from the couch and Dr. Thomas reaches out to shake my hand. I don't want to take it, but Carlisle gives my side a little nudge with his elbow. I take his hand and give it a loose shake before dragging my feet to the door. Carlisle slowly follows in his crutches. We leave the room and walk down the brightly light hallways to the main door. We wait there for Emmett to come pick us up. Carlisle sends him a text to let him know we're done, then turns his attention to me.

"You need to open up and talk to Dr. Thomas, but you did alright for your first visit." He says. "This is something you need to be open to help for."

"You said I have to earn my privileges back. If I talk to him, will I get my cell phone back?" I ask in a quiet tone. Carlisle leans in closer.

"What did you say? I can't hear you."

"I have to earn my privileges. Does talking to him get my phone back?"

"Possibly. You need to do more than talk, though. It's more about making progress than just going through the motions."

I nod, and we wait in silence for a few more moments, until I finally decide to ask the question that has been burning in the back of my mind.

"Do I have any messages?" I question just as quietly.

"I don't know, buddy. I wouldn't violate your privacy by snooping around your cell phone. I do have a question for you, though." He says. "Do you know where the salt shaker went?"

I shrug and look at the ground.

"Jasper Lee, tell me the truth." He speaks firmly. "Do not lie to me. If you want to earn any of your privileges back, you will answer me honestly. Do you know where the salt shaker went?"

I sigh. He really isn't giving me any choice here. I want my phone back. I want to talk to my Dad.

"Yes." I murmur.

"Where is it?"

"My bathroom drawer."

"Damn it, Jasper." Carlisle huffs. "Have you taken anything else?"

I shake my head no, but he doesn't believe me.

"You better admit to it if you have, because your things are being searched when we get home."

I hold back a scoff. He might not snoop in my phone, but he has no problem going through my stuff or patting me down when something is missing.

My mind jolts to the photo albums. They're hidden under my bed. I pray that Carlisle doesn't find them.


	30. Chapter 30

"You had your cast taken off!" Dr. Thomas smiles as Carlisle, Pongo and I walk into the office. I keep Pongo's leash short, per Carlisle's instructions so he doesn't tear up the room. Carlisle limps next to us.

"Just had it taken off this morning." Carlisle says. He keeps his hand on my shoulder. I'm sure he's telling himself it's to reassure me that the therapy session will go well, but from all the pressure he is putting on it, I'm positive it's to help support himself. Esme wanted him to use a cane until he got strength back in that leg, but he refused.

"Good, good. This must be your pup. What's his name?" Dr. Thomas asks me. I shrug as we sit on the couch. Pongo sits next to my feet.

"We talked about this, Jasper." Carlisle reminds me in a calm, quiet voice. I ignore him. I know we talked about speaking with Dr. Thomas, but that doesn't make it any easier. I keep my eyes on Pongo and rub the top of his head.

"You have had a lot of stress lately, haven't you?" Dr. Thomas continues to throw questions at me. "How does the stress effect you?"

I shrug.

"Is there any chance of you talking to me today?"

I don't give him any response.

"How does Jasper act at home?" Dr. Thomas asks Carlisle, turning his attention away from me.

"He's reserved. The more stress in the home, the more he keeps to himself." Carlisle explains.

"Jasper, can you talk to Carlisle about how the stress effects you?" Dr. Thomas comes back to me. I keep ignoring him. "You don't even have to look at me when you talk to him. Turn in your seat so your only facing Carlisle."

I shift around so I'm facing Carlisle. Pongo whines and scoots with me, resting his muzzle on the couch cushions.

"Go ahead and tell me, Jasper." Carlisle encourages me.

I lick my dry lips. I can't keep focused on Carlisle. I keep seeing Dr. Thomas out of the corner of my eye. My shaky hands stroke Pongo's ear.

"Just focus on Carlisle." Dr. Thomas encourages.

I can't. My throat tightens like it always does, and my stomach knots and twists like it always has. I don't want to do this. Not with Dr. Thomas sitting there. I can't. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. My eyes start to tear up, and I try hard to keep them from spilling over.

I grab Pongo's leash and stand from the couch. Before anyone can stop me, Pongo and I make a beeline for the door. Carlisle and Dr. Thomas call for me, but I keep going until I'm at the end of the hall. I lean against the wall and slide down it until I'm sitting in the ground. Pongo whines and paws at my leg. I can't help but cry now.

"Jasper," Carlisle calls my name. I glance up at him for just a few seconds. He limps towards me. "Settle down, kiddo."

I look back to the ground. Pongo nudges my hand until I start petting him.

"You're probably going to have to help me get up." He says as he slowly lowers himself to the ground next to me. He stretches his legs out in front of him, holding his bad knee. "Your old man isn't built for this." He says for a pathetic attempt at humor.

He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me even closer to him so we're shoulder-to-shoulder, or at least almost shoulder-to-shoulder. I'm not as tall as him, so my shoulder comes just below his. He let's go of his knee and wipes the tears from my eyes.

"You know, there was a time when I thought you would never speak to me." He tells me. "You were part of my family for weeks before I even knew what your voice sounded like. But things got better once you did talk, didn't it?"

I give him a little nod.

"Did you know I've been in therapy since I was ten? I didn't want to go, but it turned out to be the best thing for me. My child therapist helped me through everything. I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't gone to therapy." He explains. "I know there's a whole stigma attached to it, but at the end of the day, it is so worth it. I wouldn't be making you do this if I didn't believe it would help."

"I, I can't ta-talk to him." I say. The words don't come out right. I drop my head and clutch my scalp with my hands, letting my fingers get tangled up in my hair.

"Just relax, buddy." Carlisle sighs. Pongo whines and keeps nudging my arm until I finally give in and start petting him again. He rests his head on my lap as I do.

There's a set of footsteps coming down the hall. I'm sure they belong to Dr. Thomas, but I don't bother to look up at him. I keep my head down, but within a few seconds, I can see his feet stretched near Carlisle. He sits across from us.

"When do you return back to work, Carlisle?" Dr. Thomas asks.

"I have three more weeks off."

"The circumstances are unfortunate, but I bet it's been nice to spend all that time at home."

"It has been. No on-calls, no late nights. It's so nice to be able to eat dinner with my kids. Especially now that they're out of school for Christmas break."

They talk back and forth like they're sitting at a table for coffee instead of sitting on the ground. My heart rate slows. I scratch behind Pongo's ear. A few more moments go by. Carlisle asks Dr. Thomas if we should go back in the office, but Dr. Thomas says no, that he would like to talk right here. He asks Carlisle about how Esme is doing. They keep up the small talk, laughing and joking ever so often. I just focus on my dog. He sits up, nudging his nose on my cheek and licking my face. I chuckle as I duck away from his tongue.

"That's quite a good dog you have there." Dr. Thomas tells me. I give him a little nod. He smiles at me, then turns back to Carlisle. "I think we're done here for today."

* * *

"I said I didn't take anything today." I repeat as Carlisle digs through my dresser drawers.

"I know what you said, Jasper." He tells me. I groan and fall backwards onto my bed.

He can look through my things all he wants, because he won't find anything. He still had the cast on when he searched my room the first time, and it really limited his mobility. Getting on the floor wasn't a good option, so he just peeked under my bed and luckily my photo albums were pushed under far enough that he couldn't see them. I snuck them into Rosalie's room after that.

"That's the thing about trust, Jasper. It only takes one time to break it, and it take a hundred times to earn it back." Carlisle lectures as he shoves one drawer shut and yanks another open. He pushes through my boxers without hesitation. "You have been doing pretty good so far by confessing to what you've done wrong, but you still have a ways to go."

He drones on and on about responsibility and trustworthiness and blah blah blah. I ignore him for most of it, until he limps over to me.

"Listen, buddy, the next two days are going to be busy, so you need to get some rest, but do not come into my room tonight. You need to stay up here."

"I can't sleep by myself." I groan.

"Just do your best. You'll be fine." He promises, ruffling my hair before turning towards the door and heading out. "I'll see you in the morning!"

I sigh. Without my phone or laptop, the night is pretty boring. I can't go downstairs to watch TV or play video games either since I'm still grounded. Everyone else is in their room for the night, and Pongo is in his crate, so I have absolutely nothing to do but sleep.

About 45 minutes pass before I give up. I grab my pillow and blanket and head downstairs. Carlisle may have said no, but Esme will say yes, especially since they're still bickering.

Pongo whines at me as I tiptoe down the steps and to Esme and Carlisle's room. The lower level is almost completely dark. There's just the light beaming under Carlisle and Esme's bedroom door.

As I walk towards it with everything for my makeshift bed in my arms, I start to hear more noise than I did when I was farther away. There's a rhythmic thumping.

"Oh, god, Carlisle."

"You like that?"

"Yes, doctor!"

Oh shit. Abort mission!

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what they're doing in there. I spin on my heels and practically run to the stairs. I guess I'll see if Rose is up to sharing her room with me tonight.

I get halfway up the stairs before Pongo let's out a high pitched bark, followed by a sad whine. Carlisle and Esme are dead set on keeping him crate trained, and they're afraid he'll ruin the furniture, but he really won't be hurting anything if he stays in my room. After all, he was brought here to be an emotional support animal, and my emotions need some supporting right now.

I go back to the main floor, hurry to his crate, and let him out. He bounds out of the crate, pouncing and wagging his tail. I smile and head to the stairs.

"C'mon, Pongo. Let's go to bed."

* * *

I don't have a lot of experience frosting cookies. I can count on one hand how many times Rosalie and I have done something like this. The rest of the family are pros at it, though. We all are at the kitchen table with five bowls of frosting in the middle. Blue, yellow, green, red, and white. There's different sprinkles too. Tiny sprinkles that just look like dyed sugar in green and red, rainbow little round sprinkles, yellow sprinkles that look like stars.

Everyone else's cookies look phenomenal. Esme is decorating Christmas tree shaped cookie with green frosting and the little round springs and a little sprinkle star at the top. They're all so detailed.

And then there are the cookies Rosalie and I decorated. The aren't neatly frosted with different colors or decorated with coordinating sprinkles that make it look like a decorated Christmas tree. They're sloppy and look pretty crappy next to the rest of them.

"I'm not very good at this." Rosalie murmurs.

"Look at mine." I say quietly and set my cookie next to her. Frosting is falling off the side of it.

"Neither of us are very good at it." She laughs.

"It doesn't matter if they look good or not. They'll taste delicious." Carlisle promises us.

"And don't worry. You'll have plenty to practice on." Esme adds on. She holds her frosting covered knife towards the kitchen counter. It is filled with over ten dozen cookies, and six grocery bags filled with ingredients for more. We spent all day baking, and tomorrow, we're taking cookies to the hospital staff.

We keep frosting. There's piano Christmas music playing throughout the house from a CD Edward recorded with his music teacher last year. Everyone has been happy and no one has argued. Esme and Carlisle have been acting like two little love birds. Even Edward has been nice to me. No one even blinked when I came downstairs with Pongo in the morning.

If this is what Christmas Eve is here, I can't wait for Christmas Day.

* * *

"I cannot believe he's slept so long." Esme says.

"I can go wake him up." Rosalie offers.

"Let's give him another half hour. The boy never gets a good night of rest." Carlisle says.

"Can't we open up just one thing?" Edward asks.

"You know how this goes, kiddo. We wait for everyone."

I come down the stairs with Pongo by my side, rubbing my eyes. Everyone watches us as we come down. Carlisle and Esme are curled up next to each other on the couch. Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie are sitting on the ground near the Christmas tree.

"About time you got up!" Emmett laughs.

"Come on down and open your presents, son." Carlisle tells me.

Edward starts grabbing gift from under the tree and passes them out. I sit next to Rosalie and when Edward calls my name, he slides wrapped gifts over to me. It doesn't take long for five, six, seven gifts of all different sizes to pile up, and there's still more under the tree. Soon, seven becomes eight, eight becomes nine, nine becomes ten. I look over to Rose. Her eyes are wide as Edward slides another gift over to her.

"I gotta get my gifts," I murmur. I stand and start to head back for the stairs, but Esme stops me.

"Don't worry about that right now, sweetheart. You can get them after you open your gifts."

I sit back down. Edward starts tearing into his presents. Rose and I exchange smiles.

"Go ahead," Carlisle tells us. "Open them."

Emmett and Edward start opening there's, and Rose and I slowly start on our own. I unwrap my slowly. There are so many of them. We've been to homes where they bought us gifts before, but this is different. The whole atmosphere, the whole attitude on the event. This is a true Christmas.

I get new jeans, tee shirts, and gym clothes, some new books, a gym membership for the same gym Emmett goes to when school is out, a gym bag, and two pairs of new shoes, one pair for the gym and one pair for everyday use. I crumple up the paper and toss it to Pongo. Rosalie gets a ton of makeup, and she's in love with every single piece. She squeals about every pallet and brush she gets. If it's not makeup wrapped up, it's clothes, and it's all name brand. As much as I love my sister, even I have to admit she is a bit of a label snob, so I know she's loving every single thing she's getting.

"Let's go get the gifts, Jasper!" Rose tells me. She grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet.

We go upstairs and dig out the Christmas gifts. Carlisle already knows I was keeping them in my room since he's been doing the nightly searches, but he doesn't know what he's getting yet. Rosalie and I meet back up in the hallway and travel back downstairs.

We pass out the gifts, and I watches anxiously as Carlisle and Esme open theirs.

"Oh, Jasper! I love it." Esme smiles as she holds her necklace like it's the most delicate item in the world between her fingertips.

"Let me put it on you." Carlisle says. He takes it from her and she holds her hair up as he deals it around her neck and hooks the clasp. She drops her hair and smiles. She's wearing a big tee shirt, that I assume is Carlisle's, and a pair of black sweatpants, but the necklace still looks amazing.

"It's beautiful on you." I tell her.

"I love it, honey. Thank you."

I smile back, then look to Carlisle. He tears the paper off his traveling coffee mug.

"Wow, a coffee mug!" Carlisle smiles. He holds it backwards, so the black lettering is facing away from him. "I lost my other one in the crash. Thank you, Jazz."

I chuckle, grab the cup and spin it around. When he reads it, his face really lights up.

"Even better!" He elates.

"There is one more surprise." Esme says. She and Esme smile at each other. Carlisle leans in a pecks her on the cheek before she continues. "Jasper, Rosalie, go check the calendar."

Rose smiles and jumps to her feet. She heads to the kitchen where the calendar is hanging.

"You too, Jasper." Carlisle encourages. I stand and walk over, but Rosalie let's out a high pitch squeal. Emmett and Edward both snap their head up in her direction. Carlisle and Esme just smile.

I run over to Rosalie's side. She has her mouth covered with both hands.

"What's wrong?" I ask. She shakes her head no and points to the calendar.

The calendar isn't the old one. It's a new one for the new year, with a picture of an ocean above the dates in January. There is a big red circle on January second. Inside of it are the words "Rose & Jasper's adoption".

Rosalie wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight. I do the same to her, holding her close as I keep my eyes glued on the calendar.

The rest of the family comes over, and Carlisle and Esme are all smiles.

"What is it?" Edward asks.

"We got the date set for the adoption." Carlisle explains.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Rosalie squeals again as she let's go of me and grabs Carlisle in a tight hug.

The others celebrate and hug and laugh and smile all together, and I want to join in, but I can't take my eyes off the circled date. I can't believe this is happening. All the years we spent worrying if we would be split up and wondering what kind of home we would go to next will finally end.

"Those better be happy tears," Rosalie says and nudges my arm. I look over at her and smile while wiping my cheeks. I didn't even notice that a few tears were starting to fall. Rosalie's eyes are watery and about to spill over too.

"Of course." I say. Esme holds her arms out to me, and I happily step into her hug.

"I can't wait. You've been part of this family since they day you arrived," She explains. "But it will be such a big relief when it's on paper."

When Esme let's me go, I turn to Carlisle. His arms are stronger than Esme's, but I don't mind.

"The day will be here before you know it." He says. He releases the hug, and then points to the calendar again. There's a red arrow that starts on January third, and extends all the way through the rest of the week and ends on the Monday after the adoption. "And after the papers are signed, we will be flying to Chicago. I have to speak at the college, but after that it's purely vacation."

"Wh-what about my dog?" I ask. Esme reaches out and lightly runs her fingers over my hair as she answers.

"We finished the online certification two days ago. His vest will be mailed to the house before we leave. He's coming with us."

I keep smiling and look over to the living room. Pongo is standing in a pile of wrapping paper, tearing it all into confetti sized pieces.

"Seriously? We're doing all of that?" Edward smiles. "January is gonna be the best month ever!"

"Yeah, it's great." Emmett smiles just like Edward, but there's something different in his eyes. He puts his arm around Rosalie's shoulders and hold her in a little side hug. He looks down at her with eyes that are boarder line depressed looking. "It's great."

The excitement starts to die down some, and Esme suggests that we get ready to take the cookies to the hospital staff. Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie disperse to get dressed to go, but I hang back with Carlisle and Esme.

"Can I have my phone?" I ask once we're alone. "I just want to tell Alice about the adoption."

Esme and Carlisle exchange looks. They don't respond to me right away. It's like they're communicating with each other purely through this look.

"Let us talk about, and we'll let you know." Carlisle says.

"Go get dressed, honey." Esme tells me.

"C'mon, Pongo!" I call as I head for the steps. He runs over to me with a ball of wrapping paper in his mouth.

* * *

My phone goes crazy once it is charged enough to turn on. I keep it close to my stomach so Edward won't be able to see my screen from the backseat. He and I are driving with Esme to the hospital while Emmett, Edward and Carlisle drive behind us in the Jeep. Carlisle and Esme are feeling very generous today, and decided that I can have my phone back, but if I take anything that isn't mine and don't confess to it before being searched, then I lose it again.

I have three texts from Alice, one saying goodnight, one saying good morning, and one saying Rosalie told her I was grounded and couldn't use my phone. I text her back, telling her I got my phone back and wishing her a merry Christmas.

My Dad is the one who really blows my phone up. Between Facebook messages and text messages, new ones pop up every second.

 _I hate this goddamn job. If it weren't for getting you and Rosie back I'd tell my boss to shove it_

 _How's your day?_

 _How's Rosie?_

 _Hello?_

 _You there, Jazz?_

 _What happened? Rich doc forgot to pay the phone bill?_

 _Where the fuck are you?_

 _I bring you home, give you pieces of your childhood back, and this is the thanks I get?_

 _Too busy with your family?_

The messages continue on like this. They finally stop coming through after a few moments. He calls me names, calls the Cullen's names, and just plan out bitches about how unfair things are. I open my text messages and compose one that I hope will give him enough of an explanation so he is not angry with me.

 _Hi Dad. Sorry, I couldn't respond. I got grounded and they took my phone from me. I just got it back. I want to meet up as soon as I can, but idk when that will be. Merry Christmas, Dad._


	31. Chapter 31

_Everyone knows I wasn't raised by my parents. Instead, I was raised by the best couple I have ever met. Carlisle and Esme took me in and did everything for me without asking for anything in return. They supported me in every way, and still do. I am not surprised that they opened up their heart and home to Rose and Jasper. Congratulations on joining the best family around. I know they're thrilled to make you two an official member of there family._

Carlisle reads Emmett's Facebook status over my shoulder in the airport. He furrows his brow.

"Doesn't that sound like he's saying he isn't part of the family?" Carlisle whispers to me. I nod yes.

Emmett and Rose are dozing off in the seats across from us. Rosalie's head is resting on Emmett's shoulder. Our plane leaves at 6:10. We've been at the airport since 4:45 to make sure we wouldn't have any issues since Rosalie and I don't have our ID's with our new Cullen last name on it. Esme was worried that having "Whitlock" on them would cause problems. So far, the only problems we have had are staying awake and the nervousness of flying for the first time. Rosalie and I have never been on a plane before.

"Edward," Carlisle says. Edward is the only one awake. Carlisle pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and pulls out a few bills. "Go to the snack shop and get a variety of things for everyone."

Edward doesn't look up from his book right away. Instead, he holds up one finger. Carlisle chuckles.

"Come on, bookworm." Carlisle encourages. Edward let's out an exaggerated sigh before sliding his bookmark in place. "Do you have you're phone on you?"

"Yes, Dad." Edward groans. His eyes are red and tired.

"Good. Be careful."

Edward rolls his eyes. The snack shop is close enough that we can see it from our seats in the terminal. I go to stand, but Carlisle juts his arm across my seat to keep me where I'm at.

"Not a chance, buddy." He tells me. "You need to stay in my sight this entire trip. We talked about this, remember?"

"But I w-want-" I try to spit out, but it doesn't come out.

"Text Edward and tell him. We can't take any chances with the cops being called."

I groan and pull up my text messages to ask Edward for a bag of sour cream and onion chips and a root beer.

Emmett snores across from us, but it doesn't disrupt Rose. Esme is next to Carlisle, curled up in her seat, and Pongo is starting to fall asleep at my feet. Esme and I took him to the vet to get a sedative so he would be okay on the plane. It's an eight hour flight, with one layover, so it's going to be a long day.

I pull up my photo album on my phone to look at all the pictures we took the other day. Everyone too so many pictures, and I had them send me them all. I probably have over a hundred pictures of the day saved to my phone. It takes a moment for me to find my favorite two.

One is of Rosalie and Esme. Carlisle took it on his phone and sent it to me in a text. His message said "she's beautiful, just like her mother".

The other is of Carlisle and me. Esme took that one, and when she sent it to me, she said "you're so handsome, just like your father".

The other pictures are great, too, but those two are my favorite. There's selfies in the cars on the way to courthouse, pictures of us walking up to the courthouse, pictures of us going through the medal detectors, waiting to sign the documents, signing them, taking poised pictures after signing them, and then pictures of us celebrating afterwards. I scroll through and smile at them. I was worried that maybe my father put a stop to it somehow.

I haven't told him about the adoption, or going out of state. He would have just freaked out. We haven't been talking a lot lately. Last time he text me, it was so disorganized that I couldn't read it and I just passed it off as gibberish. That was two days ago. He hasn't talked to me since.

* * *

"Where do I put my bag?" Rosalie asks as we line up to board the plane.

"You can keep your purse with you, honey. Our other bags will be taken care of by the airlines." Esme explains.

"What about when we take off?"

"They will ask you to put it under your seat."

"So what about when we land?"

"Don't fret, Rosie." Carlisle tells her. He stands in front of us in line. "Everything will be fine. The flight attendants will give you instructions and we will all be right by you."

"Whose sitting by who?" She asks.

"Jasper and I are upfront in the seats with more legroom for Pongo. You're in the aisle seats with Esme across from us, and Edward and Emmett at behind us." Carlisle explains.

"This is weird." Rose murmurs in a shaky voice. I grab her hand and squeeze her fingers to remind her that I'm right here with her. Emmett comes up on her other side and wraps his arm around her waist.

"Don't worry, princess." He whispers to her.

I scrunch up my brow and glare at him. Princess?

We slowly board the plane. Pongo follows right by me. Our seats are the very first ones.

"Do you want the window seat?" Carlisle asks me. I shake my head no as fast as I can.

Carlisle slides into his seat. I follow him, and Pongo sits on my feet. He whines a little.

"If he gets too anxious, Esme has another dose in her purse." Carlisle tells me.

Rosalie and Esme take their seats, and Edward and Emmett plop down behind us. Rosalie sits closest to me. I take a deep breath as more people board. There are a lot of other people on this plane. I take a deep breath. My mouth is dry. I keep licking my lips. I twirl Pongo's leash around my shaky fingers. My stomach twists.

Carlisle puts his hand on my knee.

"Don't worry, son. I've flown dozens of times. Everything will be fine." He promises.

I nod. We're sitting for what feels like forever. The flight attendants make announcements about buckling our seat belts and flotation devices. I can't listen. I don't want to think about having to use a flotation device.

Finally, the plane start making noise. We move down the runway. Pongo sets his muzzle on my knee. I look over at Rosalie. She looks just as scared as I am.

"Breathe, Jasper. You're okay." Carlisle tells me.

I reach across Carlisle and slide the shade to the window shut so I don't have to see us leave the ground. Pongo rests his muzzle on my knee and I rub behind his ear and I try to force myself to relax. I glance back over to Rosalie. Esme has her hand over Rosie's.

I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes. It helps a little bit to know that Rosalie has someone to comfort her.

My seat jolts, and I jump forward as much as my seatbelt allows me too. I look at Carlisle, wide-eyed, but he's giving a firm glare over his shoulder.

"Knock it off, Edward!" He scolds.

I settle back down, close my eyes, and keep petting Pongo. He keeps perfectly still and doesn't even whine.

* * *

"M-Mom." I force out under my breath as the lights in the auditorium brighten on the stage in front of us. Without even skipping a beat of her conversation with another doctor's wife, she gently runs her fingers over my hand.

I take a deep breath. Pongo sits on my feet with his muzzle on my knee like he always does. I rub his ear with my free hand. The auditorium is packed full of med students. The chattering behind us is miserable. We're all sitting in the second row from the stage where a long table is set up with three chairs behind it. Carlisle pulled some strings to get the first three rows of seats sectioned off for the doctor's families. He hoped it would help my anxiety, but it's not helping much at all. We're the biggest family here. Dr. Sannit, a friend of Carlisle's who graduated with him and is staying in the same hotel as us, has his wife here, and another has her husband and young daughter, who's only about nine or ten years old. They all know Esme, and they laugh and chat as we wait for the panel to start.

A few more moments pass before an old man in a suit comes on stage. The whole auditorium quiets down when he mumbles into the microphone. He blabbers on about hold long he's worked at the college and all the doctors he has seen graduate before finally introducing my new father and the other two doctors. It's hard for me to focus on it. I look around behind me at the crowd.

"Hey," Rosalie says under her breath. I turn to her. She smiles and rests her hand on top of mine. "You're fine."

I focus on Rosalie's hand and petting Pongo to keep him from whining. Carlisle sits in the middle of the table. The harsh lights make him look paler than usual. The doctors go through and introduce themselves, the degrees they hold, how long they went to this college, where the work, their specialty and all kinds of information. They start with the female doctor. She works in infectious disease and goes on and on about her position.

"A year ago, I never would have thought this is where we would be." Rosalie whispers to me. I nod.

The lady keeps talking. I sigh. I don't think she'll ever let Carlisle have the floor. She talks about her most challenging part of life after her graduation, and rambles on about working well with other doctors.

"Are you okay?" Rosalie whispers to me again. I nod once more. "I know the plane really stressed you out. "

"I'm o-okay." I force out.

"Good." She squeezes my hand.

The doctor keeps chattering. Rosalie leans closer to me and keeps her voice in a hushed tone.

"I really like Emmett."

I nod. That wasn't really a big secret.

"That's not weird, right?" She keeps whispering. "I mean, he was never adopted, so we're not siblings. Is that weird?"

I shrug.

"He's going to talk to Carlisle about it when we get back home."

She squeezes my hand.

"I love him Jasper."

"Thank you, Dr. Milivant." Carlisle says, yanking our attention towards him.

It's much easier to pay attention to Carlisle than Dr. Milivant, even though I already know most of what he's saying. He rattles off the typical info, like his graduating year, the hospital he started at, when he finished his residency.

"Through all of that, I married the love of my life. We have four wonderful children." Carlisle says into the microphone. "I wouldn't be where I am today without my family. They have sacrificed so much so I can have this career, and that is definitely the most challenging thing I've faced."

I glance over at Esme. She watches Carlisle speak with a big smile.

"Balancing work and family is a challenge with any career, but when your working all day, all night, and spending more hours at the hospital than in your own home, it brings on an entire new level of challenging." Carlisle continues. "My wife and I were thrown into the whole parenting scene. We received guardianship of my best friend's son when he was three years old and my so-called friend would reappear in our boys life every few months, and stayed just long enough to cause problems. I was still in my residency, and my wife managed to keep our household running even when she was thrusted into motherhood with very little warning. Shortly after, we found out she was pregnant with my youngest. She went to a lot of her appointments without me due to my work schedule. He was born in my hospital, and I was actually on shift when he was born. My wife was in labor while I was working in a different wing of the hospital, but she never once complained. I ran to her fifteen minutes before my son entered the world. Things settled slightly after that, but not by much. It's difficult to be a family man when you're never home. My oldest had baseball games, soccer games, and try-outs that I missed. He could win the game but still be livid because I wasn't there to watch him. I missed a piano recital that my youngest played in and he didn't talk to me for three days. I told them we just had to wait it out, and once I gained more seniority, then I'll be on-call less and would make it to more events. As they grew into teenagers they were much more understanding. I was on-call less at the hospital when the hospital's social worker talked to me about foster care. I mentioned it to my wife and it wasn't long after that conversation that we opened our home as a type of rest stop for this foster kids. We had two spare rooms, and we rarely had one kid in our home for longer than five days. Kids who were recently removed from their parents custody or were eternal foster homes would stay with us instead of in a juvenile delinquent center. One day we got a call about fifteen year old twins who didn't have a place to stay. We were told it would most likely be a long term placement because our area is so short on foster homes. My wife said that she had a really good feeling about it, and I am so thankful she did. Our family wouldn't be the same without them. Somehow my wife managed to keep all of this together. After the twins arrived, I was going to work, coming home to sleep, then going back to work. My wife took care of four kids, two of which were new to our home, with only minimal support from me. She was hounding me about getting more sleep, taking better care of myself, being there for the kids. I was recently in a car wreck that shook up my entire life. I was coming home from work in the middle of the night and fell asleep at the wheel. I totaled my vehicle, shattered my kneecap, needed stitches, had a concussion. I was a mess. My wife showed up at the hospital that night and said something to me that I will never forget. She told me: 'You are not just a doctor. You are a husband, and more importantly, you are a father. You could have left me a widow and our children fatherless.' I go back to work soon, and it's going to be difficult. I've spent the last few weeks at home with my family, and I've seen how it's benefited all of us to have more time together. You will hold many titles in your life, from doctor to spouse, parent to friend. Be very careful with those titles. It's far to easy to focus on one and let the others suffer."

I squeeze Rosalie's hand, and she squeezes mine at the same time. I smile. Nothing like a little twin intuition. When I look over at her, she's misty eyed. I squeeze her hand again.

"I never thought he would talk about us in his speech." She whispers to me.

 **Hi guys! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I just couldn't get this chapter the way I wanted it to be. My plan was for it to be much longer, so the next chapter should be up soon!**


	32. Chapter 32

I try to keep my breathing under control as we walk through the crowded area outside of the auditorium. It's huge, but their are tons of people here. Carlisle leads the way, stopping briefly every now and then to say hello and thank you to teachers and students. He keeps it short, though. He knows I want out of this crowd now. I keep Pongo's leash wrapped tightly around my wrist. I follow so close behind him that I accidentally kick the bottoms of his shoe.

"Ease up, kiddo." Carlisle tells me. "You're fine."

I let him get only one stride ahead of me. He takes me to an empty hallway in the back corner. There's just a few people hanging out in this hall. I let out a sigh of relief as I take a few larger steps to make it to Carlisle's side.

"Too many people." I murmur under my breath. He chuckles and puts his arm around my shoulder.

"Don't worry, my boy. We will be out of here soon enough."

At the end of the hall is a bathroom, which is the reason for this trip. Carlisle pushes the big swinging door open to a near empty bathroom. Standing in front of the sink is the male doctor that sat next to Carlisle. He spots us in the reflection and smiles.

"Cullen!" He cheers.

"Hey, Greeley!" Carlisle calls back with a smile. "What are you doing back here?"

"I had to get away from that bitch of a wife of mine." Dr. Greeley says with a groan. "I swear, she's insane. I can't wait for the divorce to be final."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Carlisle tells him.

"Don't be sorry. I couldn't be happier about it! She only came with me because the college paid for her plane ticket and she wanted to shop. She's not even staying in the same room as me." Dr. Greeley laughs. He reaches out and gives my shoulder a pat. My first instinct is yank my shoulder away, but I resist. "This must be your boy!"

"This is Jasper. We had to get out of crowd. I kept an eye out for you. I thought we would run into each other outside the auditorium, not the bathroom." Carlisle explains, then turns to me. "Greeley and I graduated together. He was one of my groomsmen when your Mom and I got married."

"I've never seen a couple so in love." Greeley says. He opens his suit jacket and pulls a flask out of the inside pocket. "Except my wife and my credit cards."

"Are you drinking?" Carlisle asks, his brows shooting up.

"Homemade apple pie moonshine. Have a sip. I know you love it."

The corners of Carlisle's mouth twitch upwards. He puts his hand on my arm.

"Don't you have to use the bathroom?" Carlisle asks. I eye this Greeley dude as I make my way to the urinal. As I walk by, Carlisle smiles and takes the flask. He takes a small sip. "Jesus. Taste just like all our bad decisions in college."

"There's more where that came from. Why don't you stop by my hotel. We'll catch up. It's been years." Dr. Greeley suggests.

"I'd love too, but I'll have to talk to Esme about that. We canceled our dinner plans last night. I'm sure she wants a nice night out."

"Oh, c'mon. You can take her out tomorrow. I'm staying at the Beacon Inn."

"So are we!" Carlisle says.

"Perfect! Take your wifey out to eat, then come back to the hotel for some drinks. I'd be like old times!"

I zip up my jeans and Pongo and I walk to sink.

"You know, that sounds like a good idea." Carlisle finally agrees.

"Perfect! I'll see you tonight then." Dr. Greeley looks over his shoulder at me as he heads to the door. "Are you coming, Jasper? I can get a third cup!"

"Oh no!" Carlisle shakes his head. "He's only sixteen."

"The hotel room doesn't card, old friend."

"But his Dad does! He's sticking to soda for five more years."

I chuckle as Dr. Greeley leaves the bathroom. Carlisle smirks and rolls his eyes. I hold up my thumb and index finger with just a little space between them.

"Just a little sip?" I ask.

"Over my dead body."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come shopping?" Esme asks Emmett. When we were at dinner Esme, Edward and Rosie made shopping plans. When we left the restaurant, Carlisle had it clear to me that I'm not allowed in a store without him. That's fine by me, though. I'd rather be hanging out with my new dad, new brother, and an old friend of my Dad's than being in a crowded, busy Chicago store. Even the sidewalks are hectic and make my anxiety skyrocket.

"I think I'll skip the stores tonight." Emmett tells her. Esme sighs. "I'm going to hang out with Carlisle."

"Did you call him Carlisle?" Esme asks, but doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, she points her index finger at us and puts on a firm face. "Listen carefully. No drinking. That goes for both of you."

"Don't worry. We won't." Emmett promises with a smile.

"If Dr. Greeley offers you anything other than a bottle of water or sealed pop, do not take it. No wine, now beer, no whiskey. Understand?"

"Wh-what about mo-moonshine?" I force out. The room erupts with laughter from everyone but Esme. She's obviously not amused by my joke. She doesn't even show any signs that she's happy that I spoke.

"Absolutely no moonshine!" She tells me. "Even if Greeley tells you it's okay to have a sip, tell him no."

"You worry too much." Emmett says.

"They said they won't drink. Can we go now?" Edward asks. "If we don't leave soon we'll never make it to the music store in time."

"Let's me just grab my purse." Esme sighs. Rosalie stands from the bed and Edward jumps from his chair. Esme grabs her purse as Edward rushes out the door. As Esme walks pass Emmett and I, she gives us another serious look. "Promise that you two won't be drinking?"

"We promise." Emmett says. I nod. "Why are you so worried?"

"Because I knew Greeley too. He never respected boundaries with alcohol. Let him know I'll be on his case if he pushes you two to drink."

"I promise Jasper and I won't drink." Emmett swears. He puts one arm around her and hugs her to his side. "Now go enjoy your shopping trip."

Esme leaves, sighing and shaking her head. Rosalie comes over to me.

"Are you sure you're okay if I go shopping too? I can stay with you if you want." She offers. I shake my head no.

"I'm okay." I whisper to her. "Carlisle and Emmett's with me."

She gives me the biggest, purest smile before yanking me into a big hug. I hug her back for only a few seconds, because Edward reappears in the doorway.

"Rosalie! Hurry up!" He huffs.

"I'm coming!" Rose snaps back. She pulls away from my hug and waves to me as she hurries out the door. "Bye Jasper! Bye Emmett!"

Emmett smiles as Rosalie bounces off. He's so engrossed by her that he doesn't notice that I'm staring at him. He just lets out a happy sigh before going to the bathroom door and banging his big fist on it.

"C'mon, Carlisle! Let's get a move on!"

"Give me some time!" Carlisle yells back.

As Carlisle showers, I wonder around the hotel room. There's a counter with a sink right outside the bathroom door. I lean on it to get closer to the mirror hanging above it. I pinch at a small pimple on my chin until Emmett flops down on the bed and pulls out his phone. As soon as he does, I peer into the shallow canvas box on the counter. It's stocked with small bars of soap, bottles of shampoo and conditioner, lotion, and hand sanitizer. I don't even try to be slick about it. I just grab a handful and shove them in the pockets of my jeans. I head straight for my suitcase to hide them. I have to be a little sneakier to get them in my bag. I play it off like I'm digging through the suitcase for something instead of hiding these at the bottom.

"What are you up to, Jasper?" Emmett asks. I panic a little, but then my hand hits the perfect thing for an excuse. My stick of deodorant.

I pull it out and hold it up for Emmett to see. He laughs and turns back to his phone.

"Good call, dude. Don't want to scare of Dad's friend with your stink."

I laugh and roll my eyes. If Emmett doesn't reapply his deodorant at least twice a day, he reeks.

I put the deodorant on and stuff it back in the bag. As I do, the shower turns off.

"Hurry up, old man!" Emmett shouts.

"Good god, you're pushy!" Carlisle calls back.

I settle down in a small arm chair that Pongo is sleeping under. I pull out my phone and open my messages to see a picture of Alice. She's laying on her bed, her hairs is a mess and her face is so oily that it reflects the light in the picture, but her smile is so pretty.

As Alice and I text back and forth until Carlisle is finally out of the bathroom. It's weird to see him in a regular tee shirt and blue jeans.

"Finally ready?" Emmett asks. Carlisle smirks.

"Come on, boys. Let's go."

Dr. Greeley's room is just on the other side of the hotel. Were in the front right corner of the building and he's in the back left, two floors above us. I keep Pongo's leash short, but even if I kept it at its full length he would still stay right by my side. He only whines a little in the elevator, but other than that, he's a good boy.

We don't even have to knock on Dr. Greeley's door. As soon as we walk up, he flings it open and stands in the doorway with open arms.

"About time you got here! Come in, come in!"

Carlisle walks in first. I hesitate, but Emmett pats me on the back to make me enter before him. I extend my fingers so I feel Pongo's fur. Carlisle notices my nervousness, or maybe he notices the wallet and keys and coins that are sitting on the mini fridge, and nods towards the armchair. I happily follow his silent instructions, but instead of taking the chair, I set on the ground with my dog. Emmett takes the chair.

"It's been too long, Greeley." Carlisle says. Greeley goes over to the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle.

"That it has. Do you still drink this?" Greeley asks as he hands the bottle to Carlisle. Carlisle pops the cap off. Carlisle sits one one of the two ends in the room, and Greeley sits on the other.

"I haven't drank in a long time." Carlisle admits. "A wine tasting with Esme here and there, but it's hard to drink with the kids."

"No it's not! Just pour them a glass and the whole family can relax!" Greeley says with a big laugh. He takes a big gulp from his own bottle.

"That's not what I meant." Carlisle chuckles. "I mean between sports games, recitals, parent/teacher conferences, being on call at work, and everything else that pops up, there's not much time for a drink. And if we have a free afternoon, then we have to be up early in the morning."

"I never thought ole Cullen would settle down and raise a family." Greeley sighs and eyes Emmett and I. "How long had it been since we've been able to sit down with each other?"

"It's been years."

Carlisle and Greeley talk back and forth, exchanging stories of what has happened in the years they haven't seen each other. Greeley talks about his wife throwing a hot curling iron at him and burning his arm, a cruise to Mexico where she walked in on him banging another woman, and the drunken nights where Greeley woke up in places he didn't know. His stories are so crazy and entertaining that the time flies by. Before I know it, two hours tick by. Pongo sleeps at my feet and with Emmett next to me and Carlisle in the same room, I feel oddly comfortable. I still keep my mouth shut, but this feels alright.

Whenever Greeley finishes one bottle, he goes straight to another. Carlisle doesn't drink his nearly as fast, but Greeley keeps one in his hand too. Carlisle speaks slower, though, and laughs much louder than normal. Greeley's stories slowly fade out and Carlisle starts telling Greeley about how his life has changed since he and Greeley last spoke. Carlisle's stories aren't nearly as wild. He talks about fostering, Emmett's sports games and Edward's piano. He beams as he tells Greeley about my and Rosie's adoption. He even pulls out his phone to show off the pictures.

"Who would have thought this I where you would be. I gotta hand it to you, buddy, you've done well for yourself." Greeley smirks. "And that's really something with the parents you had."

Carlisle laughs out loud at the mention of them.

"How are they doing?" Greeley asks. Carlisle shrugs.

"I don't know. I don't talk to them anymore." Carlisle admits. "Dianna made a snarky comment about us fostering a few years back and I cut off contact. She called us a flop house."

"They never felt like family anyways." Emmett adds on.

"They were barely parents." Greeley tells us. He takes a big gulp from his beer. "Remember how they tacked the list of things you weren't allowed to do to your dorm room wall?"

"That was the biggest mistake they could have made." Carlisle laughs.

"What list?" Emmett asks. Carlisle smirks.

"When they dropped me off at my dorm, the put a list of things I wasn't allowed to do on my wall. Mostly things that could tarnish their reputation." Carlisle explains.

"Like?"

"The specifics really aren't-" Carlisle starts to say, but Greeley cuts him off.

"Don't get caught drinking, don't get caught smoking, don't join any club that isn't politically based and no liberal or democratic clubs, only republican." Greeley lists. Carlisle can't hide his smile. "Don't talk bad about George or any of his affiliating politicians. Only go to approved protests. And that's only part of it. It was two pages long."

"We kept it up and checked off every single thing on that list."

"Except one. You were too stubborn to get a tattoo." Greeley laughs out loud. "We couldn't convince you to get that, but boy did they freak when they saw you with an earring!"

Emmett and I both laugh out loud at this. Carlisle grabs his left earlobe.

" _You_ had a earring?" Emmett questions. Carlisle nods.

"Only through freshman year." Carlisle admits. Greeley grows quiet as he looks into the beer bottle.

"Please tell me there's pictures of you with this earring!" Emmett says though his laugh. I smile at Carlisle, anxiously waiting his answer. He just smirks and shrugs.

"So was it like, just a little stud earring or something bigger?"

"Just a small gold stud." Carlisle explains. "Big enough to give George and Dianna a heart attack."

"You know," Greeley says. His tone has changed from light and playful to serious. "They're probably still holding onto that."

"Holding onto what?" Carlisle asks before taking another drink from his beer.

"The fact that you obeyed that one rule." Greeley holds up one finger. "That one rule. You know how arrogant they are. They probably tell themselves 'Well, at least he never got a tattoo'."

"You think so?" Carlisle asks. Greeley slowly looks up at Carlisle, and his lips pull up into a wicked smile.

"What bigger 'fuck you' could you give them than getting a tattoo?" Greeley suggests. Carlisle laughs.

"A tattoo?"

"Yes!" Greeley shoots up from his seat. He stretches his arm out. "Let's go! There's a parlor right down the road! We can go right now!"

"I dunno, Greeley." Carlisle shrugs him off. "I mean, what is it going to prove? I don't even speak to them anymore."

"It proves that you won't take shit from them."

Emmett and I exchange glances before fixing our eyes on Carlisle. He's quiet, but shrugs his shoulders and smirks. A few more seconds pass. He takes another sip of beer before slowly setting it down on the end table next to the bed. He puts his hands on his knees and slowly rises up from the bed. He claps his hands and rubs them together.

"Let's go."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You want your last name tattooed across your back _tonight_?" The tattoo artist asks Carlisle. Emmett and I stand behind him. We've kept close to him the whole way here to make sure we don't miss a single part of this.

"Yeah. Let's do it." Carlisle says with a smile.

"You realize that most people set up a consultation and then make an appointment for a tattoo like this? This isn't the type of tattoo people get for a walk-in." The man repeats.

"Can you do it or not?"

The man slaps his hand on the counter at the front of the shop. He left out a heavy sigh before replying.

"Something like this is going to take time. With it being a walk-in it's going to cost you."

"Give me a price."

The man mumbles to himself, rubs his forehead and hesitates before throwing out a price that lets me down. There's no way he'll pay that much for it.

"Deal. Let's do it."

The man's eyebrows shoot up, like he's shocked that Carlisle accepted the offer.

"Cash." He adds on quickly. "We don't take cards or checks."

"Where's the closest ATM?"

"We have on right over there." The man points to the far right corner in the front of the shop.

Carlisle turns on his heels and heads straight to the ATM. Emmett and I stay glued to him.

"Carlisle, I want that too." Emmett tells him quickly. "Will you sign for me to get it?"

I scoff out loud. Carlisle isn't the type of father to sign for something like this.

"Yeah, sure. They'll want your ID. Do you have it with you?"

My jaw drops. Carlisle wasn't even phased by the question. As he puts his card and PIN number in the machine, I rapidly pat his shoulder to get his attention. I smile at him, hoping he knows what I want.

"What?" He asks.

"M-me too?" I whisper. Carlisle pulls his brow together.

"What did you say?"

"I wa-want it t-t-too." I force out a little louder.

"Do you have your ID?"

* * *

I take a deep breath as I lay face down on the padded table. The stencil is placed on my back, shoulder to shoulder, with CULLEN printed in simple lettering. Just a black outline of the letters. Emmett sits in the chair in the corner of the three-walled booth I'm in. Carlisle and Greeley are one booth over with a different tattoo artist.

When Carlisle agreed to let Emmett and I get the tattoo, I thought we would be in and out in no time. Boy was I wrong. Carlisle had to sign all kinds of paperwork to allow them to tattoo us. They were mostly concerned about me, since Emmett is turning 18 soon anyways. Luckily Carlisle had the pictures of the adoption papers on his phone to prove that he's my parent. The tattoo artist called another artist into the shop to try to hurry the process up.

"So you get adopted and the first thing your dad does is pay for a tattoo?" The artist asks. My fist tightens around Pongo's leash.

"He doesn't talk." Emmett tells him.

"He doesn't talk?"

"Well, he does, just not to people he doesn't know. It's an anxiety issue. That's why he has the dog." Emmett explains.

The artist just shrugs and doesn't say anything else to me. Emmett smirks and snaps a picture of me. I can hear Carlisle laughing with Greeley in the other booth. I take a deep breath. This isn't that bad. I can totally handle this.

 **Hi everyone! Like the last chapter, this one took a lot of time and headaches to get it how I wanted it. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!**


	33. Chapter 33

"I cannot believe this!" Esme let's out an exasperated sigh as she stares at Carlisle laying face down on the bed. Emmett and I sit up on the other bed, praying her rage will die down soon. "You have a few drinks with your buddy and all of a sudden you act like you're in college again!"

"Esme, relax." Carlisle mumbles with his head buried into his pillow.

"Relax?! You let our children get tattoos!" She yells back. Carlisle groans.

"Honey, sweetheart, please. My head is pounding." Carlisle pleads. Esme is having none of it.

"It's pounding because you're a grown man acting like your twenty one again! Why would you do this?"

"I told you why." Carlisle mumbles.

"Right. George and Dianna." Esme says. Her tone drips with sarcasm. "Because even though you haven't spoken to them in years you still have to act like a child and do something to spite them!"

I glance over at Emmett. He doesn't look too worried. I'm not sure how he can stand this yelling, though, especially from Esme. She rarely even raises her voice, let alone yell.

"I cannot believe this." She rubs her forehead like she's trying to sooth a headache. "You are never taking my kids alone again."

"Our kids." He corrects. Esme ignores him.

"Oh thank God this happened after the adoption. If you signed for Jasper when he was still in the foster care system they would have yanked him from our home in a heartbeat!"

"Don't I get any credit for them not drinking?" Carlisle asks.

"They may not have drank but they spent most of the night in a tattoo parlor with their drunk father!"

Carlisle doesn't respond. He just keeps his head buried in his pillow. Pongo goes to the door and whines at it. I glance over at Esme, unsure if hearing them argue is a punishment I can't leave. Pongo runs over to me and back to the door as Esme continues her rant. It's not until he lets out a loud bark that she looks over to me.

"Take your dog out, Jasper. Emmett, you go with him." Esme orders. I nod and shoot to my feet. I snatch his leash from the dresser and Emmett and I rush out of the room as fast as we can.

"Oh, c'mon Esme. Weren't you attracted to the whole 'bad boy' persona? That's why you got with me." Carlisle says with the slightest chuckle as we shut the door. We can hear Esme go off from in the hallway.

"Maybe we should have stayed in the room to make sure she doesn't kill him." Emmett says. When I don't laugh, he nudges my arm. "Hey, don't worry, brother. She will be over it soon enough."

We wonder down the hall to the back exit of the building. We pass a three-walled room with the vending machines and see Greeley buying some medicine from one. He has sunglasses on and is holding his head in his hand.

"I hope he's not going to check on Carlisle. She might rip his head off." Emmett whispers to me as we pass.

We take Pongo outside and to a small patch of grass in the parking lot to let him do his business. We take our time going back to the room.

When we finally get to our hallway, I expect to still hear Esme shouting at Carlisle. I don't hear her until we reach the rooms, though. We decide not to test flaring up Esme's anger again and skip the door where Esme and Carlisle are staying and go to the next one over where Rose and Edward are waiting.

"I can't believe you guys really got tattoos!" Edward says as soon as we walk in. "Did it hurt?"

"No, of course not." Emmett says with a smirk and a shrug. I roll my eyes as I unhook Pongo's leash and let him run to the bed. Fuck yeah it hurt. Hell, it *still* hurts.

"I can see them again?" Edward asks.

Emmett doesn't hesitate to pull his shirt off. Edward jumps up to examine it again.

I go over to Rosalie. She's sitting on the bed, slouched down with a little frown on her face. I sit next to her and grab her hand.

"You okay?" I ask in a quiet whisper. She nods.

"I don't like the arguing." She admits. I squeeze her hand.

"Rose, take a picture of Jasper and I." Emmett requests. He waves us over. Rose gives him a big smile for getting to her feet. "Jasper, take your shirt off and flex, like this."

I follow Emmett's directions and copy him. I yank my shirt over my head and stand next Emmett with my back to Rosalie. I curl my arms up and do my best to flex like Emmett. I can hear the camera on Rosalie's phone clicking.

"I got the picture." Rose says. I drop my arms grab my shirt. "Let me get one of just you Emmett."

Emmett smirks and happily obliges. I duck out of the shot. I don't want to be in the picture that Rosalie will be ogling later.

"I can't believe Dad went along with this." Edward says.

"Me too. I thought he would definitely say no." Emmett tells him. "But he didn't even hesitate."

"How long do you think Esme will be mad?" Rosalie asks.

"I'm sure it won't be that long, Rosie." Emmett promises her. "They can't stay mad at each other for too long."

Rose sits back on the bed so she's close to the wall. I sit next to her while Emmett glorifies our tattoos to Edward. If I listen very carefully, I can hear what Esme is saying.

"When Jasper was caught stealing, you were the one who insisted on grounding him. How do you determine what he is allowed and not allowed to do when he's grounded?" Esme doesn't even give Carlisle the chance to answer. "I would have thought getting a tattoo would be off limits when grounded. Actually, I wouldn't let any of them get tattoos even if they weren't grounded!"

"You've made your point clear, Esme." Carlisle sighs.

"I sure hope I have! I thought I could trust your judgement."

"I was drunk. I'm sorry, honey."

Esme doesn't respond. A few moments tick by and I think their fight is finally over. I hear some stomping around but it's hard to identify the sounds over Emmett and Edward's chatter.

"Get out of bed. We're leaving tomorrow and I'm not wasting my last day here catering to your hangover."

* * *

Esme may not be lecturing Carlisle anymore, but he's far from out of the doghouse. The restaurant Esme chose to have brunch at is very busy. We had to wait thirty minutes for a table outside, and once they finally had a table that would sit all of us, we had to weave through tables and waiters to get to it. Carlisle kept his sunglasses on and his head lowered as we maneuvered through the restaurant. I sit between Carlisle and Rosalie. It takes some coaxing to get Pongo to go under the table by my feet, but he finally does. We review our menus and I see a huge stack of waffles with sausage and eggs and a fruit bowl. I nudge Rosalie's arm to pull her attention from her conversation with Esme and point to it.

"Tell your father, dear. He's the one who needs to help you." Esme tells me, then looks at Carlisle. "Take your glasses off, honey. How can you see anything in here?"

Carlisle pierces his lips and slowly pulls the glasses off and sets them on the table. He keeps his eyes squinted and pointed down towards the table.

"Could they make it any brighter in here?" Carlisle mumbles as he looks over to my menu.

The waiter comes back with out drinks and after placing his and my order, he chugs his glass of water so quickly the others haven't even had the chance to order.

"Dehydrated, love?" Esme asked.

Carlisle sighs and gives a nod. The waiter takes everyone's order and says he'll be back with a full cup of water for Carlisle.

"Good thinking, Carlisle." Emmett says. "The quicker you hydrate, the shorter the hangover."

"And how do you know that, Emmett Dale?" Esme demands.

"Why are you calling me Carlisle?" Dad snaps at him. Emmett ignores Esme, and focuses on Carlisle.

"That's your name."

"What happened to 'Dad'?"

"Things would be weird if I called you Dad." Emmett answers without missing a beat.

"They haven't been weird for all these past years."

"Did you guys find anything nice while shopping yesterday?" Emmett asks, looking towards Esme instead of Carlisle now.

Esme accepts the change in topic and talks about some of the shops they found, but keeps glancing over at Carlisle. He sits there with his head in his hands and rubbing his forehead. You can tell just by looking at him that he's wiped out.

Our food comes and everyone but Carlisle and I chat about the trip and how bummed they are that we have to leave tomorrow morning. The only interaction Carlisle has is giving my hand a little smack under the table when I sneak Pongo a piece of sausage. I scrunch my eyebrows at him. Although I know he did it because I'm not suppose to feed Pongo human food at the table, I wait for an explanation. He doesn't give me one, though.

When we're all finished, the waiter comes back and Esme digs in her purse for her debit card. She hands it over to the waiter, but Carlisle speaks up suddenly.

"Don't use the debit card. Put it on the American Express." He says. Esme raises one questioning eyebrow at him.

"Aren't we trying to pay that off?"

"Esme, the debit card won't go through." Carlisle explains quietly. "I used that money."

Esme presses her lips into a thin line as she exchanged the debit card for the American Express. The waiter barely has time to walk away before she starts questioning Carlisle.

"The debit card won't go through? How much did you spend last night? Our bills come off that card!" She huffs.

"Don't worry, Esme. As soon as we get back I'll transfer some of the savings into the checking account." Carlisle sighs.

"Carlisle," Esme says his name in a way that sounds so foreign. She's typically so kind towards him, towards all of us, and hearing her lose that sweet tone makes her sound like a complete stranger.

"Let's not discuss finances in front of the children."

Esme takes a deep breath and eyes Carlisle angrily. She asks us how our meals were. The others pick up conversation like the bitter exchange between our parents never happened.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to check the name, and as soon as I see the name, I tuck my phone under the table. It's my father.

I push my chair back and as soon as I stand up, Esme stops me.

"Where are you going, sweetheart?" She asks.

"Bathroom." I murmur.

"Go with him, Carlisle."

"He can go by himself." Carlisle groans. "What is there to steal in a bathroom?"

My cheeks flush. He could have been a little more subtle about it. I spin around and sulk off towards the bathroom. I weave in and out of waiters and waitresses to the bathroom in the very back of the restaurant. I fling the stall door open and yank my phone out to read the text message.

 _Hey Jasper. Sorry it's been so long. That bitch Jen got me in some trouble, but it will all be taken care of by my court date. What's up with you? How's life treating you? Is that dr still being a dick and taking your phone? When can I see you again?_

I type out another message as fast as I can.

 _What kind of trouble? I've been alright. I still have my phone. We're out of town right now, by we'll be back on Monday night. I can't sneak out of therapy anymore and I'm technically grounded, but I'm sure I can find a way to get out of the house._

It takes a few minutes for him to text back. As soon as it comes though, the bathroom door opens.

"You okay Jasper?" Carlisle calls.

I huff and change from Ansel's messages to Carlisle's and tell him that I'm fine.

"Okay. I'll wait here for you." Carlisle says.

 _Any day is fine with me. I lost my job since I got arrested so my days are free._


	34. Chapter 34

Being grounded sucks.

It's been three days since we got back from Chicago. I've been texting Alice all day, everyday. My father only answered a few texts. I want to see him, so I asked Carlisle and Esme if I could go visit Alice. Esme said to ask Carlisle, and Carlisle immediately said no. It has taken three days of begging and pleading and dramatics to get him to cave in. I offered to do extra chores in exchange for my grounding to be lifted for just one day. I told him how much I miss Alice and that she's my only friend who isn't family. I swore to never take anything that isn't mine again. He had to go back to work two days ago, so every moment that he was home I was following him around trying to get some free rein. Finally, at breakfast, Emmett asked if I've seen Alice and told her about the Chicago trip. I just sighed, gave Carlisle the saddest look I could muster and shrugged. It must have been a pretty pitiful look because once we were done eating Carlisle said I could visit her, but he'd be patting me down as soon as I get back and if he finds anything that isn't mine, he'll take my phone again.

I'm not going to see Alice, though. They think I'm trudging down this snowy driveway to meet Alice and her mother at the road, but in reality, I'm meeting Ansel.

Ansel's old Ford flies through the snow and slides to a stop just a few inches away from the mailbox. With my arms crossed tightly over my chest, I jog over to the passenger side door and climb in.

"My boy!" Ansel's smiles and gives my shoulder a smack. "It's good to finally see you again."

* * *

"You know how that bitch is, though. She did nothing but lay around. She was useless anyways." Ansel tells me as we pull up to his house. I asked what kind of trouble he got in, and instead of answering, he's just gone on a rant about Jen. "Stupid bitch got high and made up stories."

His cul-de-sac is exactly the same. Same couch on the lawn, same overflowing garbage can, same lady in a too big coat on her steps with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

"What stories did she make up?" I ask as we get out of the truck. His sidewalk isn't shoved and the snow is over our ankles.

"Just stupid shit. Saying I hit her and crap."

When he flings his front door open, there's one big difference in his house. The couch is gone, and so is the entertainment center. The TV is sitting on the ground. There's a tall pile of garbage and random items that I assume came off of the entertainment center against the wall. There are just two metal folding chairs where the couch use to set.

"Where's your couch? And your entertainment center?" I ask as I shrug my coat off.

"A buddy of mine sold some stuff of mine to get bail money." He responds as he heads to the kitchen.

I nod. I can't imagine he got much for that old ratty couch.

I shrug my coat off and look around for someplace to put it. I settle on draping it over one of the folding chairs. I've definitely been spoiled by the Cullen's home. Ansel probably has less stuff in this whole duplex than we have in a single room at home. That house is built better too. There's a big draft coming from the window.

"What's on your back?" I turn around to look at Ansel standing in the kitchen archway. He has a beer in his hand and his brows are pulled together.

"My back?" I say questioning. It takes a second for me to remember that he can see the beginning and end of my tattoo with the tank top I have on. "Oh, my tattoo. I got it done in Chicago."

"Turn around and take your shirt off. Let me see it."

His order comes out in a deadpan tone. I turn my back to him, grab the back of my tank top and yank it over my head to expose the entire Cullen name.

"Carlisle and Emmett both-"

I can't even finish my sentence before I get knocked right off my feet with a strong right hook. I'm able to put my arms out to brace my fall. It gives me an instant headache.

From the ground, I quick push my torso up and turn so I'm facing Ansel. The angry look in his eyes takes me back to when I was six years old. A helpless, terrified six year old.

"What the fuck, Jasper?" He screams. "What did I tell you? What did I tell you?"

I open my mouth, but nothing more than a stammer comes out.

"I told you that you would always be a Whitlock! You are not a Cullen!"

"I, I'm so-sorry!" I force out.

"Shut the fuck up!" He takes a few steps forward and towers over me. From my place on the ground, he looks like a giant. He reaches down and grabs a fistful of my tank top and yanks me upright. "I can't believe you'd do this to me. Cullen, huh? You want to be a Cullen so bad then get the fuck out of my house!"

He gives me a good shove backwards, but I'm able to regain my balance without hitting the floor. His points his big, shaking finger towards the front door. I scurry over like a frightened mouse and grab my shoes. I avoid looking at him as I bend down to put them on.

"Hurry up! I'm not having no spoiled ass doctors kid in my house!"

As soon as he says 'doctor', he kicks my side and I hit the wall. He turns on his heals and goes to the kitchen, so I yank on my shoes as quickly as I can. I walk towards my shirt and my coat, but Ansel is back in the living room before I can reach either of them. He grabs me by the back of my neck and shoves me towards the door again.

"Get the fuck out!"

I fling the door open and he follows me outside. He must have grabbed his winter coat from the kitchen, because he has his on. He points to the truck.

"Get in before I change my mind and make yo walk back."

I duck my head and go straight for the passenger side door. I wrap my arms around my chest to try to warm myself up m. Between my head pounding and the pain in my side, it hurts to move.

"I can't fucking believe you," Ansel growls as he get in the drivers seat. I stay as close to the passenger door as possible. "My own son, a traitor! Fine, fine. You want to be a Cullen? Then be a Cullen. But don't you ever talk to me again!"

The engine roars to life and he backs out of the driveway and drives out of the cul-de-sac so fast that I'm afraid we'll crash. He keeps ranting the whole way.

"Between you and that bitch of a sister of yours, I ain't got one good kid!" He shouts at me. I want to speak up and tell him not to call Rosalie a bitch. I need to speak up. But I know the words won't come out. I can feel them trapped in my threat. "If I would have known my own kids would turn on me, I would have knocked your mother out the moment she told me she was pregnant!"

He goes on like this as we drive towards Carlisle's house. He keeps flinging his arm as he speeds down the screams. He passed everyone he comes across on the road. I clench the door handle as if that would keep us from flying into the ditch. He doesn't hit me during the drive. He just keeps screaming. He seems to get louder with every mile we drive and my head pounds so hard that I can't think.

It seems to take ten times longer than normal to get back home. I take a deep, shaky breath. I'm done. This is the last time I see Ansel. Rosalie was right. Meeting with him was a mistake.

As we near the driveway, he slams on his breaks and we slide on a patch of ice. The truck does a one-eighty in the middle of the road. I push my feet against the floorboard to brace myself. Once we come to a halt, Ansel gives me the meanest face I've ever seen as he reaches for me.

Things seem to go in slow motion. I can see his hands heading towards me. I can feel one hand on the back of my head and the other on the back of my neck. I see the dashboard getting closer and closer as he slams me into it. My arms move in slow motion, too, and I'm too late when I try to put them on the dash to stop this. I close my eyes as my nose and chin hit the old dash.

I cry out and pull back, holding my nose with both hands. I swear, my head feels like it's going to explode. I drop one hand from my nose to reach for the door handle, but as soon as I find it, Ansel slams my face into the dash again.

"Get the fuck out!"

I push the door open and I have to keep one hand on the trucks hood as I cross the street. I'm not even a foot away from the truck before he speeds off.

My stomach twists in a knot as I head for the house. When I look at the long driveway, the snow covering t makes me dizzy so I keep my head down as I walk. My head, my face, my ribs. They all ache with a pain I haven't felt in years. The cold wind quickly makes my skin sting. I can't stop shivering and I'm gasping for breath.

I remove my hand from my nose so I can wrap my arms around myself, but as soon as I do, bright red blood drips onto my bare chest and onto the snow. I look at my hands. They're covered in blood.

Shit.

As if I wasn't miserable enough, my stomach flops. It only takes two more drops of blood to fall to make me lose my breakfast. I bend over at the waist and brace my hands on my knees as I continue to vomit.

There's no way there's anything left in my stomach, but I can't stop retching. More blood drips and blends into the puddle of puke in the snow. The whole world starts spinning faster and faster and I can't stop it.

"Mom, Dad!" I yell with a raspy voice before my weak knees finally give out on me.

* * *

"Get back here, Pongo! Jasper will kill me if you run off. Pongo! Pongo!"

I can hear a voice coming closer. Something wet rubs against my cheek, and it lets out a loud noise that tortures my headache.

"What is your problem? You never run like this! Come on, boy!"

Emmett? There's that loud noise again and I slowly realize the wetness and the loud noise is my dog licking my cheek and barking.

"C'mon, Pongo! What is your-" Emmett's voice instantly cuts off. I try to open my eyes, but the brightness of the snow kills my head. "Holy shit. Holy shit! Jasper!"

 **Please review!**


	35. Chapter 35

One of the foster homes Rosalie and I were at when we were eight pitied us to no limit. They never yelled at us. The moment any of our clothes seemed a tad too small or had the smallest stain or rip, they ran out to buy us new ones. If we got in trouble, all they did was tell us that our behavior wasn't good and tell us what they wanted us to do next time. No punishments, no limits, nothing.

It sounds like a dream come true for a child, but Rosie and I quickly realized the horrible looks on our past foster parents face. Rosalie and I once ran outside and down the street with fistfuls of dollar bills the husband left on the kitchen counter for the wife to get groceries with. We heard the ice cream truck coming and the wife was in the basement doing laundry, so we grabbed the money ourselves and took off after the truck. She started freaking out when she realized we were gone. After searching the house for us, she started called some neighbors to ask if they saw us, and one neighbor told her that he could see us right outside his window at the ice cream truck. He yelled at us to go back home.

When we got back with our half eaten ice cream, the wife was still historical. She told us to never ever run off again. That was the closest she ever got to yelling at us, until Rosalie sighed and said "We're sorry. We were never allowed to get ice cream at our Dad's house. We were just excited."

The look on the lady's face was so sad. She looked like someone yanked her soul from her and stomped on them. It made my heart sink.

I've felt such sadness with Rosalie. When we'd be moved to another foster home, when we're picked on at school, when a foster parent would yell and scream and punish us for silly mistakes and the occasional foster home that would hit us. We've had more than our fair share of sadness, but the look on our foster mothers face when she was told we never got to enjoy the ice cream truck at our dad's house use to always stick out as one of the saddest moments that I can remember.

That's been pushed off the list, though. Carlisle and Esme have replaced her.

"You visited who?" He asks in a quiet voice.

"Jasper, I don't understand." Esme sighs. "I thought you were going to Alice's house."

"I lied." I admit. Their heartbroken eyes force me to look away. I can't handle it.

"And he did this to you?" Carlisle questions. I nod. "How long has this been going on."

"A while."

"How long is a while, sweetheart?" Esme asks.

"Since Garth started coming around." I murmur in a shaky voice.

"You've been seeing him since then?" Carlisle inquires. I shake my head. "How long have you been visiting him?"

"Since the day after the winter dance." I answer. Even though I'm not looking at them, the hurt in their voices are obviously. I have a pit in my stomach from it.

"How many times have you visited him, Jasper?" Esme continues the questionnaire.

"Not many." I say. I fight against it, but my eyes fill up with tears. "I'm sorry."

"Jasper," Carlisle lets out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Don't be mad." I beg. I blink rapidly, but tears still fall. Esme grabs my hand and I look over at her. "I'm sorry, Mom."

She still has that horribly depressing look in her face. I can't stand it.

Carlisle walks over to the side of my hospital bed. They have me hooked up to all kinds of things. Actually, Carlisle has me hooked to all these machines. They wanted to just put an IV in my arm and this weird clamp thing on my finger, but Carlisle insisted on the whole nine yards. I've had more tests done today than ever before. Scans and blood work and exams. It took hours until I could just settle into a room. Carlisle was ordering them to check every little thing.

I'm sure I look like shit. When they assigned me a room, Esme instantly hung brown paper towels over the mirror with medical tape so I wouldn't be able to see myself. Everything hurts. My ribs, my nose, my face, my arms and legs. Everything is achy. Carlisle told me I have fractured ribs, a broken nose, and a concussion.

"Dad?" I say, watching Carlisle watch the machines. He barely looks my way as he grabs my hand.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Esme asks.

"Horrible." I tell her.

"One to ten?" Carlisle asks.

"Six or seven." I answer. He's been using this pain scale since I came in.

"I'll take care of it." Carlisle says. He immediately drops my hand and walks briskly out of the room. Esme gives my hand a squeeze.

"I'm so happy you're going to be okay, Jazz." She tells me.

"Is Rosalie coming to see me?"

"Once your father calms down, the rest of the family will be on their way." She promises.

"Is he mad at me?" I ask. Tears keep rolling down my face. She uses one finger and barely touched my swollen cheeks to wipe them away, but it still hurts.

"Honey, Carlisle is feeling a lot of emotions right now. It was so scary to see you so hurt."

"He's mad."

"Sweetheart," she sighs. "He is worried, he is concerned, he is stressed, he is scared. You have to remember, he just watched his son get rolled into his ER."

"He's mad because I was with Ansel." I murmur.

She doesn't respond. Instead, she just rubs my hand in hers. That pretty much answers my question.


	36. Chapter 36

"He's going to be okay, right?" Rosalie asks outside of my hospital room. "Like, this isn't lasting damage?"

"He will be just fine. He needs to take it easy with school work and anything mentally challenging because of the concussion, but he will be back to normal in no time." Esme tells her.

"He's in good hands, sweetheart." Carlisle assures.

"I don't want to see him."

My heart sinks. I know she's mad because I lied to her about seeing Ansel, but I never thought she would react like this.

"Why not, Rosie?" Carlisle asks.

Rosalie doesn't respond right away. I didn't tell them that she knew that I've visited Ansel before. I hold my breath. She might just throw herself under the bus with this.

"Because why would he go see him?" She finally says in a grave voice. "Aren't we enough of a family for him."

"I understand your frustration with this situation." Carlisle tells her. "Come on a walk with me. We'll talk."

A few seconds pass by before Esme, Edward and Emmett come marching into my room.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Esme asks with a forced smile. I just shrug and look down at my hands as I pick at my finger nails.

"You don't look too bad." Edward says happily. I know he's just trying to help, but it isn't helping.

"Nothing keeps Jasper down." Emmett exclaims.

Emmett stays standing at the foot of my bed and Edward and Esme take a seat in the wooden chairs in the room. They chat together and try to get me to join in, but I don't want to talk to them. I want to talk to my sister.

* * *

Emmett shuffles the stiff deck of cards in his hands. Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett are all squished together next to my bed, Carlisle in a metal folding chair he found buried in some janitorial closet. Rosalie sits right between them, her arms crossed over her chest. She barely looks in my direction, and when she does, it's a scowl so powerful that it could knock the strongest man to his knees. Esme and Edward have already gone home for the night. Rosalie and Emmett wanted to stay a little later with me. I don't know why Rosalie felt she needed to stay, because she hasn't spoken to me once since she got here.

"So, what game are we playing?" Emmett asks. No one responds. Carlisle keeps his eyes glued to the machines. Rosalie watches Emmett move the cards from one hand to the next. "Oh, come on, guys. Someone's gotta talk."

We're still silent.

"Christ," Emmett sighs and rolls his eyes. "What's the issue?"

"You know what the issue is." Rosalie mumbles.

"Is sitting here ignoring each other going to fix it?" Emmett asks.

"Maybe I don't want to talk to him." She shoots back. It makes my heart ache.

"Rose, be nice." Carlisle scolds her quietly.

"He doesn't talk to anyone and that's fine, but I decide not to talk to him and suddenly I'm the one who's wrong?" She questions Carlisle, her lips twisting along with the snide remark.

"I just said to be nice." Carlisle groans and pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Emmett's right, though. Tell him why you're angry. Do it _nicely."_

Rosalie doesn't respond right away. She looks down at her feet with an angry scowl on her face. Carlisle rubs his forehead like he has a headache. Emmett keeps shuffling the cards.

"Rosie," I say as quietly as I can. It's just enough to get her to look up. I hold my arm out to her. She hesitates for a moment before she decides to take my hand and completely break down.

"Why would you go see him?" She asks. Tears roll down her cheeks like her eyes are floodgates that have just been opened. "After everything he's done to you and after everything we've been through. Things have just gotten better. Why would you run back to him?"

I squeeze her hand. That's the only response I can give her right now. Emmett puts one hand on Rosalie's knee, and once Carlisle sees that she's comforted, he rests his hand on my blanket covered leg.

"I think I can speak for Jasper," Emmett speaks slowly and deliberately. "Because I kinda did the same thing."

Carlisle lets out a sigh.

"You know, it's difficult for guys like us." Emmett says, turning all of his attention to me. "Carlisle and Esme are better parents than anyone. They give us everything we could ever need or want. And it's great. But I get it, bro. People see us as being lucky that they take care of us, but we see it a little deeper. We see the more tragic layer of the situation. We remember the parents that discarded us."

Carlisle watches us with intense, pained eyes.

"I understand how horrible it is to wonder why you weren't good enough. Garth played the perfect Dad to me a few days every six months, then left me like I was nothing. It was horrible. Carlisle is a phenomenal father, we all know that, but unfortunately, we weren't born into this family. Chosen, but not born." He pauses here, and locks eye contact with me. There's a moment of understanding between us, and I feel more connected to him than ever. He gives me the smallest smile, just one corner of his lip turn upwards, before he turns back to Rosalie and Carlisle. "The family we were born into will always stick in our mind. That's something that we need to work through ourselves. It has no reflection on the rest of the family. Rose, you know Jasper loves you. Same for you, Carlisle. You both are taking this very personally. I'm sure it's difficult not to, but this is about Jasper and his biological father."

"I told him not to do it." Rosalie whimpers.

"Wait, what?" Carlisle looks up to Rosalie, his eyebrows pulled together. "You knew about this? And you didn't tell me?"

Rosalie's eyes get wide, and before she incriminates herself, I butt in.

"I, I, I asked her." I force out. My voice is raw and strained. "If she ever w-w-wanted to meet h-him. S-s-she," I have to pause and take a shaky breath. I've never said this much in front of Emmett. "Didn't know I r-r-really saw h-him."

Carlisle looks between the two of us, probably deciding if he can believe me or not.

"Is that true, Rosalie?" Carlisle asks. She nods. He looks to me. "Are you lying to me, Jasper?"

I shake my head no.

"Anyways, like I was saying," Emmett jumps in and clears his the throat to shift the attention back to him. "It's something personal. Nothing against anyone else. Knowing your biological father is out there and within arms reach makes it very tempting to forgive and forget his past wrongdoings. And when he gives a positive response, well, it's hard to turn down."

Rosalie sighs. I squeeze her hand again. Carlisle doesn't respond. He keeps staring at the ground.

"Haven't you ever wanted to see how your dad is doing?" Emmett asks him.

"Never." He responds harshly. "I was taken from him for good reason and have no interest in hearing from him."

"Maybe it's just because Jasper and I were removed when we were younger than when you were removed. I don't know." Emmett suggests with a shrug. "I just know that the day Garth swung at you was the day I finally got closure on him being a shitty father and not wanting him in my life. And I'm sure Jasper is feeling the same way right now."

I nod, even though it makes my head throb.

"If you don't have closure right now, you can get it later when we see his ass in court." Carlisle sighs and stands from his chair. He walks along the wall, past the mirror covered in brown paper towel and medical tape so I can't see myself and throw up at how horrible I probably look. He runs his hand through his hair, then rubs his forehead. He puts his hands on his hips and looks down at his shoes. He stands like that for a while, frozen in place like a status.

"I love you, Jasper. Don't do something so stupid ever again." Rosalie says.

"I p-promise."

"Good evening, Cullen clan!" A bubbly nurse exclaimed as she barges into the room. She gives Carlisle a phony disapproving glare. "Visiting hours are over, Dr. Cullen."

Carlisle smirks and rolls his eyes. The nurse laughs at him before coming over to my bedside. She messes with a few things, examining machines and charts and whatnot.

"What happened to the copy of his lab results?" Carlisle asks. "I asked for those three hours ago."

"You know how things run around here, Doc. The patients who are first priority are the patients with the most serious problems. You should be happy Jasper's results aren't our first priority."

"Glenda," Carlisle sighs and gives her a frustrated huff.

"Don't look at me like I'm one of your residence." Glenda scolds him. "You've already seen them once. Calm down, Papa Bear. Your little cub will be just fine."

Glenda gives Carlisle a pointed look, one that I've seen Esme give him before. His face softens and his lets out a defeated sigh.

"Don't worry, Dr. Cullen. Every level and count is exactly where it should be." Glenda says in a nicer tone. She puts her hand on my shoulder. "How are you feeling, sweetheart? Any pain?"

I hold up five fingers.

"Okay, honey. Just another half hour before your next dose. Let your daddy know if it gets too out of hand." She tells me with a smile. I smile back and nod. Out of all the nurses, Glenda is my favorite. The others either act like I'm in a coma and don't say anything when they come in, or try to force me to talk to them.

Glenda leaves, and Carlisle comes over to my bedside.

"Emmett, Rose, you need to go home. You have school tomorrow. Call your mother to ask her to pick you up." Carlisle tells them.

"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you. One on one." Emmett says.

"About?" Carlisle asks.

"One on one, Carlisle." Emmett repeats.

"Actually," Rosalie puts her hand on Emmett's shoulder and speaks quietly just to him. "You could talk to Jasper, too. He should know."

"What about your ride home?" Carlisle questions. "It's not very fair of you to ask Esme to come pick Rose up, drive her home, then turn around to come get you."

"I can just spend the night here." He suggests.

"You need to go to school tomorrow."

"Carlisle, please." Emmett looks to him with begging eyes. "It's important."

Carlisle lets out a big, heavy sigh before finally giving in.

"You better be explaining why you've been calling my Carlisle." He tells him. Emmett nods, and Rosalie smiles as she stand from her chair.

Rose hugs me the best she can with me in the hospital bed, then hugs Carlisle. He wraps one arm around her shoulders, hugs her, and kisses the top of her head. She says her goodbyes and leaves the room. Carlisle sits down in Rosalie's seat and looks to Emmett.

"What is it, son?"

"Yeah, I'm going to need you to stop calling me son. At least for a little while." Emmett says. Carlisle's eyebrows shoot up, egging Emmett on to further explain. "Well, you know how I'm not legally your son? I mean, you raised me and everything but legally I'm still a McCarty."

Carlisle nods slowly.

"And Rosalie is legally your daughter."

"Where are you going with this, Emmett?" Carlisle ask skeptically. I already know, so I sit back and wait for Carlisle's reaction.

"I love Rosalie. I want to be with her forever, like you and Esme."


	37. Chapter 37

"You boys always keep me on my toes." Carlisle sighs. He's back to pacing around the room.

"It's not a bad thing." Emmett defends himself. "I really, really love her."

"What happens if this doesn't work out? Won't that make things awkward?"

"It's going to work out. I know it will. Rosalie and I have both had feelings for each other since the day she got here."

"You have Cullen tattooed across your back."

"I know. When we get married, I'll take the Cullen last name instead of her taking McCarty."

"Married? You two are talking about marriage?" Carlisle asks. Emmett nods.

"I'm telling you, Carlisle, we're meant for each other."

Carlisle doesn't respond. He keeps pacing instead. I look over at Emmett. He sighs.

"Jasper, I know Rosalie has talked with you about it." He says. I nod. "What-"

"Dr. Cullen!" A young guy in scrubs comes flying into our room, cutting Emmett off. He bumps into Carlisle, and thrusts a file into his hands.

"Jesus, Thatcher." Carlisle huffs and opens the file. He scans it over, and suddenly his face scrunched up. He holds the file closer to him.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen. We just got the results back." This Thatcher guy says with a sad tone.

"Are you fucking serious?" Carlisle murmurs under his voice before snapping the file shut. He holds the file up and give Thatcher a fiery glare. "This is for *Casper Culken*, not *Jasper Cullen*! Are you even reading these before you deliver bad news to someone?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen." Thatcher says meekly. His shoulders hunch forward and he looks down at the ground.

"You are damn lucky this mistake happened with me and not another patient's parent!" Carlisle bellows like I've never heard before. I look at Emmett with wide eyes and wonder if he has ever seen this side of Carlisle before. His mimicked look lets me know he is just as shocked as I am. I look back to Carlisle. It's like a car wreck. I know I shouldn't stare, but I can't look away. "If you give someone the wrong test results you will be in a lawsuit so quickly that you won't know what hit you! How many times have we gone over this, Thatcher? If you have any hopes of making it in *my* hospital, you better not make these ridiculous, inexcusable, reckless mistakes!"

"Dr. Cullen-"

"Now your remember the last name." Carlisle releases an agitated huff. "How the hell did you think my son's last name was Culken?"

"It's an honest mistake-"

"Honest mistake? It's a careless mistake!"

"Well, his name isn't Cullen." Thatcher tries to defend himself and points at Emmett. "How was I supposed to know you only changed the name of one kid and not the other?"

Carlisle gives him the most hateful scowl I've ever seen, and his face turns red as he clenches his jaw. It doesn't take long for Thatcher to backpedal.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen. I'll get these results to the Culken family right away, sir." Thatcher reaches for the fold, but Carlisle pulls his arm back so Thatcher can't reach it. He holds up one finger towards Thatcher's face.

"Do not step foot into this room again. I don't care if you're given a task so simple a trained monkey can do it. I don't want your incompetent self to do so much as take the trash from my boy's room, let alone deliver any test results or perform any treatment." Carlisle says with a growl in his tone. "And you better have a doctor, a well educated doctor, double check whatever the hell you're doing. Our patients don't deserve to suffer any trouble because of your mistakes and this hospital can't afford you damaging its reputation."

Carlisle shoves the file back into Thatcher's arms, and Thatcher quickly scurries out of the room. Carlisle looks down to the floor, closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"D-dad?" I stutter. When he looks up at me, his face is completely different that it was ten seconds ago. His eyes have gone from angry to caring, his jaw from clenched to relax.

"Are you always that mean to your coworkers?" Emmett asks. Carlisle sighs and drags his feet over to the chair next to Emmett. He collapses into it with a heavy sigh.

"Thatcher is one of the new residents. I swear, they give away those degrees anymore. It's always mistake after mistake with him." He explains.

"Dr. Cullen!" Glenda the nurse calls after she flings the door room open. She closes it firmly behind her and puts her hands on her hips. Carlisle groans. "Why are you screaming at poor Thatcher?"

"Because he's incompetent and wants to make comments about my boys!" Carlisle reiterates.

"Is he always like that when he's at work?" Emmett continues his questions.

"Only to the young and dumb ones. He knows better than to yell at me." Glenda smiles and walks over to me. "You're going to raise this poor boy's heart rate, doctor. You know he doesn't need to be dealing with any stress with this concussion."

"You're right." He murmurs and pinches his nose again. "I'm sorry Jasper."

"I-it's o-o-o-okay." I whisper.

Carlisle's head snaps up and he stares at me. His frown slowly turns into a smile. He looks over to Glenda for a split second before looking back at me.

"So is he the Dr. House of this hospital?" Emmett ask, yanking Carlisle's eyes from me to him. Carlisle lets out a light, airy laugh.

"He's the warden, the captain, the big man in charge." Glenda lists with a smirk. She pats my hand before heading towards the door. Before she steps out, she points at Carlisle. "Be nice to our staff!"

Carlisle keeps his smile, but rolls his eyes and waves her away. He stands up and comes over to my bedside. He grabs my hand and gives it a little squeeze.

"You spoke in front of Glenda."

"She's nice." I admit quietly.

"So," Emmett says. "What about me and Rosie? What do you think?"

Carlisle sighs and squeezes my hand again.

"What do you think, kiddo?"

"Rose is happy." I tell him. Carlisle nods.

"My only concern is that if things don't work out, then both of you are hurt." Carlisle explains.

"It's going to work out. I swear. Dad," Emmett sighs. "I love her. I really do. I've never felt like this before about someone."

Carlisle drops my hand and returns back to his seat next to Emmett. He's silent for a few moments, but then starts to nod.

"Okay." He finally agrees and pats Emmett's shoulder. "If you have that much faith in this, then I'll back you up on it."


	38. Chapter 38

Remember, don't over do it." Carlisle instructs me as we walk up to the house. He stays right behind me, as if he is afraid that I'm about to fall at any moment. Although my ribs still hurt the worst, the pain medication the hospital gave me is working well and minimizing the pain.

"I know, Dad." I tell him for the hundredth time.

As soon as I open the door, I can hear Pongo's nails on the floor as he scrambles towards us. He rounds the corner and charges at me, his tail wagging. I smile and kneel down to greet him, but before he reaches me, Carlisle steps around me and grabs him by the collar.

"Easy, boy." He tells him. Pongo stretches to reach me, but Carlisle holds him back.

"Let him go." I say. Carlisle shakes his head no and slowly walks him over to me. Pongo instantly starts licking my face.

"You can't let him jump on you. He's just a dog. He doesn't know you're hurt."

"He won't hurt me." I promise as I pet his neck and rub behind his ear. Carlisle sighs, but smiles down at us.

"You know, as much as I can't stand this dog, I can't help but be grateful for him. Who knows how long you would have been out there in the snow if he didn't push out the door."

"Jasper's home!" Rosalie's voice rings through the house. She runs over to me and stretches her arms out to hug me, but quickly returns them to her side and drops to her knees next to me. She takes my hand in hers and smiles. "I'm glad you're back home."

"Me too." I tell her.

"Come on, Esme got pizza for dinner. Everyone is waiting for you in the kitchen."

Carlisle hurries to my side and holds my arm as I get up, like I'm incapable of doing it myself.

"I'm fine, Dad." I say under my breath.

We head to the kitchen where the rest of our family waits. Carlisle tries to pull my chair out, but when I sighs and shoot him a look, he instantly understands and backs off. Everyone greets me and it's like I was never gone. Everyone continues seamlessly now that I'm back. Emmett dives into the pizza, Edward rattled on about school, Rosalie stays right next to me. Esme brings me a can of soda, her hand resting on my shoulder as she kisses the top of my head.

"I'm so happy you're finally home." She tells me. I smile back.

"Me too, Mom."

 **Hi guys! I'm sorry it took so long to update. I'm really struggling with some writers block, but I'm trying to get through it. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	39. 39

I very gently knock on the door to Carlisle's office. Since Carlisle won't let me go back to school yet because of the concussion, I'm at home with Carlisle and Esme. The first few days were really fun. Esme taught me how to cook a fajita for lunch and Carlisle watched movies with me. Although I love my sister and brothers, it was kind of nice to be treated like an only child.

But now we're are on my forth day home from school and the novelty has worn off. Esme has left the house, Carlisle is locked up in his office, and I'm bored out of my mind.

"Can I come in, Dad?" I ask through the thick wood.

Carlisle doesn't respond right away. I hear some rustling around before he finally calls back.

"Sure, buddy."

I stroll in with my hands inside my pockets. Technically, I'm not supposed to be in here. Carlisle never officially lifted my ban from after he caught me stealing, so it's been a while.

"Whatcha doing?" I question.

"Oh, just surfing the web." He says dryly as he turns his attention to his open laptop.

"No one says 'surfing the web' anymore." I chuckle.

"That's not what the kids are saying these days?" He matches my chuckle and turns his laptop toward me so I can see the picture of a beautiful beach on the screen. "Do you think Esme would like this location?"

"For what?"

"To renew our vows." He explains. "She wanted a beach wedding when we first got married, but our parents insisted on a Catholic church."

"It's pretty." I tell him and lean against his desk. "I didn't know you were actually going to do it. You said it was a waste of money."

"But Esme wants to so badly. And after everything our family has been through lately, I think she deserves it. Garth, Ansel, the drinking and the tattoos in Chicago, and everything in between, Esme has worked hard to keep our family running as smooth as possible." Carlisle's tone doesn't match his words. It's heavy and dreary. "She deserves her dream wedding."

I nod and try to identify whatever strange mood he's in.

"Don't tell her about this. We need to save up some more spare money before we start really planning. This was just to get an idea of what she may like." He sighs and gestures to the screen.

I nod again and wonder over to the bookshelves. I scan the spines, looking for a title to catch my eye. Carlisle leans back in his chair and watches me for a few moments before straightening a stack of books on his desk and pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm going to use the bathroom. Can I trust you to keep your pockets empty?"

He eyes me as I nod a third time. I can tell he's skeptical, but he leaves me alone in the room anyways.

He probably shouldn't trust me.

As soon as the door latches shut, I go over to his desk and plop down in his chair. My fingers instantly run themselves over every little nicknack, pen, and paperweight. I know I shouldn't. I know Carlisle will be disappointed and angry with me if I do. I lean back on the chair and wrap my arms around my chest, trapping my hands between my arm and side. Maybe I won't take anything today.

Under the desk is a small wire trash can that's filled with tore up papers. On the very top is a collection of yellow lined paper from a legal pad, crumpled up into balls instead of shredded. It doesn't match the rest of the white paper, and peaks my interest. I grab one of the paper balls and smooth it out on the desk.

 _Dear Ansel,_

 _You don't deserve to hear a thank you from me, but in a way, I owe you one. You are the reason Jasper and Rosalie came to our family._

I lean in closer and reread the name at the top of the page just to double check that I'm not going crazy. It's written in Carlisle old style handwriting, and Ansel's name is printed clear as day at the top. Why would Carlisle write to him?

My mind races as I snag the other matching papers from then trash can and one by one smooth them out on the desk. I find five total letters addressed to Ansel, but I know I don't have enough time to read them all. Carlisle will be back in just a moment or two. I fold all five pages together and stuff them in the front of my underwear waistband. I keep scanning his desk, looking for anything else that may be written to Ansel. I spot the edge of the legal pad in the middle of the stack of books Carlisle straightened before leaving the room. I sit still before pulling it out in an attempt to hear if Carlisle is on his way back or not. He has another letter started, so I rip off the top page, stuff it in my pants, and return the legal pad back it's place on the stack.

I leave Carlisle's chair and return to the bookshelves. I try to direct my focus on the spines again, but a little Spider-Man figurine catches my eye. It's barely as long as my pinky finger and the biggest part of it is the wide base it's setting on. I pick it up and examine the cheap piece of plastic. I try to remind myself of how much trouble I got in for stealing, how Esme and Carlisle pulled enough strings to keep me from being arrested for stealing at the mall, the looks on their faces when they found my drawer full of treasures and how much crap Edward gave me over it all. I really shouldn't...

"What are you doing, Jasper?"

Carlisle's voice pulls me from my thoughts and makes me jump. Without thinking, I shove the figurine in my pocket before turning to face him where he stands in the doorframe. He face falls, and his tone sounds even sadder than before.

"What's in your pocket, son?"

Being home from school is even more boring when your sent to your room for the day for taking something that doesn't belong to you.

On the plus side, though, he only caught me with the plastic figurine and my solitary confinement type punishment is the perfect time to read through these letters.

 _Ansel,_

 _Your children call me Dad. I do not take that privilege for granted. Rosalie is blossoming into a wonderful young lady. Jasper is learning what it means to be a man. For some reason that I will never understand, you chose to dismiss yourself from this experience._

I really have no idea how I feel about this, but move onto the next one anyways.

 _Ansel Whitlock,_

 _I refuse to let you break my children. Jasper will come back from this stronger than before. Rosalie will as well. The twins will thrive without you._

I set the letter aside and unfold the next one.

 _Mr. Ansel Whitlock,_

 _I have a family of six. Myself, my wife, and the four children we are raising. Only my youngest child shares my DNA, but all four of them share room in my heart. The twins fit right into our Cullen clan. You had the chance to raise them as Whitlocks, but you blew it._

 _Mr. Whitlock,_

 _*It has been a pleasure to have your children in my home. The twins fit in perfectly and are the final addition we needed to complete our family. It is a shame that you have acted in such a way that you do not get to see how wonderful your own children. You are missing out on seeing your two children grow up. Dispite everything they've gone through, they still have such pure hearts. How a father couldn't see that, I don't know._

It's interesting peering into Carlisle's mind. He and Esme have made it clear that it doesn't matter if we came to this family by either adoption or birth, but seeing it in writing is so comforting.

 _Dear scumbag,_

 _You're a piece of shit. The thought of a grown man beating two innocent elementary school children is enough to infuriate me. Having to see the damage you caused to MY son is a rage that cannot be described. The harshest punishment the courts can give you is still not enough to make up for what you have done to my children. You are the scum of the Earth. You are the monster that children should only know of from reading fairytales, not from living the nightmare. Rosalie and Jasper are growing up to be wonderful young adults. Do not make the mistake that you have had anything to do with that. How such amazing children came from a horrific subhuman like you is baffling to me. I hope you fully understand what you have given up. Do not contact my family ever again._

 _With the worst possible regards,_

 _Dr. Carlisle Cullen_

 _PS, Jasper speaks to me. He speaks to me every day. As much as you have tried, you did not take away his voice._

The last one is the one I pulled from the legal pad, and is the only one signed and finished. Seeing such harsh words coming from Carlisle is so foreign, even though he had a similar attitude towards Garth and the hospital staff when I was in the ER. Even when he was at his angriest with me, he's never spoke to me like he is speaking in the letters.

"Jasper!" Carlisle's voice makes me jump again as he bangs on my bedroom door. "I'm coming in!"

I don't even have time to hide the letters before my door flings open and Carlisle storms over to me with his face twisted into an angry scowl. All that's missing is smoke coming out of his ears. I just stare back at him, my mouth hanging open as I try to think of a way to get out of this. He has me red handed.

Carlisle grabs the pile of letters next to me in his clenched fists and takes a deep breath before holding out his other hand in front of me.

"Give it to me." He growls.

 **Hi guys! I'm uploading this chapter from the FanFiction app for the first time, so if there are any formatting issues please let me know and I'll fix it when I can get to a computer. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	40. 40

"What do I have to do to get through to you, Jasper? You do not take things that aren't yours! I thought you learned your lesson between the mall and the pharmacy and everything in your nightstand drawer! At what point will it sink in that this behavior is wrong?"

Carlisle lectures me as he paces in front of my bed. His voice rises, and his arms won't hold still. He holds his hands behind his back, rubs his forehead, and pinches the bridge of his nose as he walks.

"Those were not for you and you knew that! You know better! How many times do you have to be punished? What do I have to do to get you to understand?"

I sit as still as a statue on my bed with my eyes wide and my mouth slacked open. My heart sinks with every word he says. For the first time since Carlisle has legally been my father, he's screaming at me, and I don't know how to take it's

"You are grounded, Jasper Lee! I swear, you are going to be grounded until you are thirty years old! You'll spend the rest of your teen years sitting in this bedroom!"

I wish Esme were home. She always has a soft spot for me and could get Carlisle to stop yelling.

"How do you justify this? Do not take things that do not belong to you! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I'm sorry, Dad." I whimper out. It makes him stop dead in his tracks.

"Jasper," He lets out a heavy sigh and collapses on my bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Why? You knew those letters weren't for you to read."

"I dunno." I murmur again.

Carlisle doesn't say anything. He just sits there and watches my wall. I grab the stack of letters and set them next to him.

"I'm sorry, Dad." I repeat.

"I don't know what to do with you, Jasper."

I gulp down the lump in my throat.

"Did you read them all?" He asks quietly.

"Yeah." I respond just as softly.

He sits up and pushes himself across my bed until his back is against the wall. He closes his eyes and is still.

"I'm sorry. It was a bad choice." I tell him. He just gives me a slight nod without opening his eyes.

I don't know what else to say to him, so I stay quiet too.

"I wish the two of us could go for a ride, but Esme has her car and the Jeep is at school with Emmett." Carlisle sighs and finally looks over to me. "That's become our thing, hasn't it? Going for rides?"

"Yeah." I agree.

"We got the insurance money for the Mercedes, but we just haven't gotten around to it between the Chicago trip and everything. I need to get my own vehicle though. Maybe you can come to the car lot with me and we can test drive a few things."

"I'd like that."

"But until then, I guess we can do our talking right here. Son," he pauses on his last word, like he's savoring the sound of it. "Do you know why I wrote those letters?"

I shake my head no.

"Ansel was arrested. There's a court set for what he did to you. You can write a victim impact statement about what he did to you. I was researching it so I could offer advice to you if you wanted to write one, and it seemed like a much healthier way to handle the anger than I have been. That's why I wrote the letters." Carlisle explains and locks his eyes on me. I just stare back, unsure of how to feel about Ansel's arrest. "I think we need to really get serious about your therapy, Jasper. I'll make another appointment for next week. You need to put all your effort into it. This sticky finger issue needs to come to an end."

I look down at my bed and give him a solemn nod.

"Ansel was shoplifting. That's how they caught him." Carlisle gravely says. He lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm not letting you follow in his footsteps, son."

My head snaps up and I quickly shake my head no.

"I'm not!" I insist. "I'm not like him, Dad! We're two completely different people!"

"You do have your differences. The stealing, though, is just like him."

 **Hi guys. I'm sorry it is taking so long to update. As we get closer to the end of the story, my writers block gets worse. I'm struggle to write chapters that are up to par, but I'm determined to finish this, even if it takes a while. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	41. Chapter 41

"You've made a very good choice, Mr. Cullen," the car salesman says with a big grin as Carlisle signs the last of the paperwork for his brand new BMW. I sit next to him, flipping through the pamphlets showing off every feature of the car. I occasionally glance up at the salesman, but other than that, I'm sticking close to Carlisle's side and keeping to myself. This is a totally new environment for me.

"Is that it?" Carlisle asks as he pushes the paper towards the salesman.

"It's all yours." He tells him and hands the keys, Carlisle stands, takes the keys, then shakes the man's hand. I stand, too, but I take some steps back so he doesn't offer his hand to me. With some pleasant thank you's exchanged, Carlisle puts his hand on my back and we leave the tiny office. I walk step ahead of him. This is our deal. I get to come with him to places if I stay in his view 100% of the time and keep my hands in my pockets.

The new dark gray car is parked out front, and Carlisle beams as we get closer. He walks to the driver's side and once we're both in, he runs his hand over the dash.

"It's a beauty, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I agree. He starts the engine, the light in his eyes growing even stronger when it comes to life. It's only like that for a second or two before his face turns serious and he looks to me. "Show me your pockets."

I stuff my hands in my pockets and turn them inside out so he can see that they're empty. He reaches over and gives my shoulder a pat.

"Good. You're making progress."

I shrug. Other than the free pens and keychains that are sat out by the coffee machine, there's not much to take. Not like I can hide a car in my pants.

"Let's go for a ride, buddy," Carlisle says, his smile return as he shifts into drive.

I lean against the window and just enjoy the winter scenery. It's been a while since we've been able to do this, and the quiet hum of the motor and the passing trees outside create the perfect, calming scenario. This ride is just like that for the first few miles before Carlisle starts talking.

"I told you they found Ansel. He's in jail and will be there until the court date due to him being a flight risk." He says.

"I don't want to talk about him," I mumble.

"It's important, Jasper. You need to understand what is going to happen." He tells me firmly. "He'll have an arraignment where he can either plead guilty or not guilty."

"But he is guilty."

"I know he is, son. That's why I'm hoping he pleads that way. If he pleads not guilty," Carlisle pauses and takes in a deep breath. "Then it will go to trial. If it goes to trial, then it would be extremely helpful if you could testify against him."

I look over at him like he's crazy because that's the only explanation for him to even suggest such a thing.

"No!" I tell him. "I'm not doing that."

"Think about it, Jasper. Who else are they going to call as a witness?" He asks. "It was just you and him."

"I'm not doing it!"

"We need to take every opportunity to get him put in jail for what he did to you. Your testimony would really help with that."

I shake my head again and cross my arms over my chest to pout. I can feel the tightness in my throat and my stomach starts to twist. As I think about all the people that would be there, I just start feeling worse about it. The judge, the lawyers, jurors, the prosecutor, the bailiff, Ansel. Too many people. I can't do it. I won't do it.

"Calm down, Jasper," Carlisle says, his eyes darting from the road to me and back to the road over and over. I can't, though. My lungs won't cooperate as my breathing quickens. My hands turn clammy and I just shake my head no again.

"I, I, I ca-can't," I start to say, but I completely give up when the words don't come out smoothly.

My eyes well up with tears. I sink down my seat and just keep my face turned towards the window so I don't even have to look at Carlisle. I can't believe he would even suggest this. He knows I can't get in front of all those people. He knows I can't talk to them. After Rosalie, I thought he was my next greatest supporter. He knows how hard it is. Why would he ever think that I would be okay with that?

"Jasper, it will be okay. I'll be there. So will Esme, and I'm sure your siblings will be there for you." He tries to reason. I just ignore him. "It won't be as bad as you think. I'm confident that you can do this."

When I don't respond, he just keeps driving for about ten minutes before trying again.

"Are you hungry? We could go to McDonald's."

With tears still falling down my cheeks, there is a split second that I think of talking to him. What I would do for a Big Mac right now... but I don't say anything or even acknowledge that he's said anything to me.

"Come on, Jasper. Talk to me."

Still nothing.

"You can't go back to this. I know you can talk to me, Jasper. Don't regress." He tries to sound firm, but his voice shakes. "Please, talk to me, son."

* * *

The house is a roaring disaster when we get home. The TV is loud, Emmett and Edward are laughing. Dishes and pans clank together in the kitchen as Esme makes dinner, and Rosalie has music playing from her phone.

"Hi, honey." Esme greets me as I come inside. Carlisle is just a few steps behind me, but I slam the door shut anyways before he's inside. I ignore Esme just like I ignored Carlisle in the car.

"Hey! How's Carlisle's new car?" Emmett asks.

"What did he end up getting?" Edward adds on. I do the same to them and walk away as if they weren't even there.

"Jasper?" Esme calls my name, but it doesn't do any good.

I go straight to Pongo's crate and let him out. Rosalie pauses her music as I walk by. We make quick eye contact and she gives me a little nod before I head upstairs. Carlisle and Esme call for me again, but I don't stop for them. I go straight to my bedroom and flop down on my stomach on my messy, unmade bed. Pongo whines before he jumps up and lays next to me. I wrap one arm around him and finally let all the tears flow. I sob into his soft fur and he just lets out an occasional whine.

A few minutes pass before my door opens. The soft footsteps tell me it's Rosalie. She comes over and lays on the other side of me so I'm sandwiched between my sister and my dog. She doesn't say or ask me anything. She just lays next to me and lets me break down.


End file.
